I'll Give You All of My Heart
by EchoSerenade
Summary: After the Doctor lost Rose and left Anna in a safe place on Earth, the Seraphixian had to find a way to survive in an unfamiliar time and place. Could she possibly do this without him? Even if he ever came back, what then? How much would it hurt to see him again, especially knowing that they could never be together? Doctor/OC/? (Second in the Seraphixia series)
1. The Coffee

**CHAPTER 1: THE COFFEE**

Perhaps she should've expected it from the beginning. No one wanted her around for long. Why would the Doctor be any exception? Foolish girl. Foolish, foolish girl. What was she going to do, now?

She was stranded in a place she had no idea about and she wasn't even sure what time this was. Never had she ever felt so alone and lost.

"Little miss?" She looked up to see a figure approaching her. "Are you lost?" She frowned. The man was slightly hunched over and his footing wasn't quite stable. "I can help you if you want. I – ah – have a place you can stay."

"N-non, s-s'il vous plait…" she stuttered, backing away. Without the TARDIS to translate her words, she had forgotten that she needed to put the effort into speaking English.

"A Frenchie, mm?" He continued to advance on her. "I like meself an exotic woman."

With wide eyes, she turned around and began to run. She could hear his heavy footfalls pursuing her. Her heart was racing. What was she going to do? Where can she hide? "Laissez-moi!" she screamed. She turned a corner and crashed into another man. She screamed louder.

"Shh! Shh!" the stranger hushed her. "It's alright." He peeked around her and saw the other figure was retreating after noting that she wasn't alone anymore. "He's gone."

Anna breathed in a shaky breath and looked at the man. His features reminded her of many of those from her kind – blonde hair and blue eyes. She could tell that he was pale, even in the shadows. "Who are you?"

"Ralph," he replied before quickly adding, "I'm not a stalker or anything. I heard you screaming from there." He pointed to an apartment nearby. "I ran out and well... crashed into you, I guess. Not much of a saviour, am I?"

She shook her head. "You did well." She smiled at him. "Do you have anywhere I can stay that will accept these?" She slipped her hand into her coat pocket and produced the handful of coins that were not accepted at the shop while she was with Jack.

"You sound like a foreigner. You can probably exchange those for British pounds at the bank tomorrow morning."

She frowned. Where was she supposed to stay if she didn't have any money?

"You seem a bit lost and... you don't have anything packed. Do you maybe want to... stay with me – I mean – stay at my place for the night." A small blush appeared as he stumbled over his words.

Anna gave him an appraising look before nodding. If anything happened, she'd be able to deal with it, right? "Thank you."

Ralph smiled at her before the two of them made their way across the street.

D*O*C*T*O*R W*H*O

It had been three months since the Doctor left her in Chiswick. Anna had adjusted surprisingly well to her new environment. After the initial night with Ralph, she had gone to the bank as he had instructed. Instead of having a smooth currency exchange, however, the banker immediately told her to bring it to an antique shop instead. Apparently, her coins were not accepted anymore. Anna was disappointed, thinking that she would never have any money, but did as the banker told and found an antique shop with Ralph's help.

Immediately after she showed the antique dealer the coins, the elderly man had a look of awe on his face. He told her to wait as he disappeared into a door. Anna was sure that somehow, her coins wouldn't be accepted here, as well. Instead of referring her to another person, the man came back with a book. He squinted at the book and looked at the coins. Several more times, he repeated the action.

"My God... they're genuine!" he exclaimed.

Confused, Anna replied, "Of course, they are. I would never try and cheat anyone."

"But... where did you get such valuable coins?"

Again, she wasn't quite sure what the novelty was. This was but a mere fraction of what was in the manor. "It... it has always been in the place I lived in."

"Oh," he let out a breathless sound. "I can get you a good deal on these, but not from here. I will have to call several people. They'll be able to afford these."

He promised to set up everything by the end of the week, which left Anna wishing that he'd just give her the bad deal and get everything over with.

When she returned to the apartment, she told Ralph about what happened and he happily offered his home for the remainder of the period.

As promised, when Anna arrived at the antique dealer's shop at the end of the week, there were several men waiting for her. Some were as old as the dealer himself while others looks to be in their mid-thirties. All of them turned to her when she entered.

"Ah! Here's the young lady I was talking about," the antique dealer exclaimed. "She had the most fabulous collection of French livres and francs."

"Will I be wasting my time here if these are not actually _genuine_ coins?" one of the men sneered.

"Now, Mr. Herold, I can assure you that these are in fact genuine."

The antique dealer turned to Anna. "Can you show these gentlemen your coins?"

Anna frowned, wondering what was so special about them, but slowly and cautiously retrieved the pouch that held her money.

When she pulled the drawstring, the men immediately leaned forward to try to catch a glimpse of the little objects.

The antique dealer gently laid the coins down on to the counter. There were 98 in total. Most of them were gold with several silver and copper ones.

Half an hour past before any of them decided to give their offer. The younger man spoke first. "Three hundred fifty pounds," he said.

Another man scoffed. "Three hundred fifty? I'm not surprised, O'Connell, you only have a _small_ little corporation." He turned to Anna. "I am willing to give you four fifty."

The others frowned, not wanting to be outdone. The offers continued to increase until O'Connell finally said, "Two million."

They froze. It was certainly not worth two million.

"Any other offers?" the antique dealer asked them.

No one spoke up.

"Well, then. I think we have our winner. Congratulations, Mr. O'Connell. I assume you will be writing a cheque?"

Anna tilted her head. Check?

"Yes." The brunet nodded and began to write on a piece of paper before handing it to Anna.

She took the cheque and looked at it. Sure enough, it read two million. "Can I buy things with this?"

O'Connell stared at her, taken aback by her strange question. "You will have to deposit it into a bank first." At her confused expression, he realized that she may not know what he was talking about. "Have you ever gone to the bank before?"

"Once," she replied. "The man there told me to come here."

"Do you have a bank account?" Again, she bore a confused look and the man laughed. "I'll accompany you there."

Anna quickly thanked the antique dealer who smiled at her warmly before following O'Connell to the bank. She looked at the small, seemingly insignificant paper in her hand. How could this possibly be worth two million? Of course, she had heard of bank notes, but had never seen one herself. Was this one of them? It didn't have the stamp that she had heard about. Had she been duped? If only the Doctor was here, he'd know what to do, but if he was... she wouldn't be in this situation in the first place.

Setting up the bank account was more tedious than she thought it would be. She was required to produce a photo identification card and one more with her name on it. She had neither.

With a small bit of bribing from the man beside her, the banker happily complied. In another few minutes, she had a bank account under her name. He had even managed to get her several fake IDs under the name Anna Belaire.

When everything was done, O'Connell offered to buy her lunch, while she nodded with much enthusiasm. She had skipped breakfast to come to this ordeal and her stomach was growling profusely.

"Thank you, Monsieur O'Connell." She smiled at him as they sat down in a small, toasty cafe. "I would never have known what to do without you." She took a sip of water. "Why were you so adamant to obtain them?'

"Keegan is fine." He smiled back at her. "I have always been fascinated with French history. I'm of French descent, you see, and during my time in university, I had a minor in French history. On one of my projects, I studied a very extraordinary woman."

Anna tilted her head. "Who was she?"

"She had a very peculiar name," he replied. "Cassandriana."

Anna choked. "Cassandriana?!"

"Do you know her?"

"She... I..." What was she going to tell him? "I have heard of her," she finally managed to squeak.

"What have you heard?" Keegan was leaning across the table, eager to hear about what she had to say.

Anna looked down, wondering how much to tell. To be honest, she would love to talk about her mother, but most of her memories of the Seraphixian had faded over the centuries. She would, however, be glad to tell him anything she could. As she pondered, another thought came to her. "Have you researched her lineage?"

He shrugged. "Vaguely, but just with how much she had accomplished was amazing and it always struck me as odd that no one really knew much about her."

"That's true." Anna frowned. Her mother was an amazing woman. If only the King had valued her more.

Since that time at the cafe, Keegan became one of Anna's closest friends, next to Ralph who had insisted that she stayed with him despite her gaining a quick fortune. She didn't want to exploit the man's hospitality, but she was also reluctant to stay in an apartment alone, so she agreed.

She did, however, started to work at a place called HC Clemens. Despite the money that she had, Anna was bored by herself. Ralph had to work from morning to late afternoon and she had nothing to do, so with a bit of help, she managed to secure a job at the office. It was an entirely new experience. All the workers were cramped into a large room with dozens of cubicles.

It was not easy making friends there. Everyone seemed to already know everyone and she was the new girl who didn't quite belong. Not only that, she was bored here, as well. Working in the office was absolutely _nothing_ like travelling with the Doctor. It was a monotonous routine.

D*O*C*T*O*R W*H*O

"Are you still working at HC Clemens?" Keegan was sitting with his feet resting on the coffee table and a warm cup of tea in his hand.

"Mhm," Anna hummed. "I have been working much less, though, after the promotion. Funny how the system works. Work less, get more money.

He laughed. "Yes. It's quite unfortunate. The people who work the hardest are paid next to nothing." He turned to her. I can't believe you're still working there after complaining how boring it is."

She shrugged. "It is something to do and the pay is good."

"Something to do for seven years?"

"Nothing better to do with my life."

"You can marry me," he suddenly blurted.

It may have sounded like something out of the blue if anyone had been eavesdropping, but the two of them had gotten to know each other very well. Anna was happy to spend time with him and she knew that he had feelings for her. He was rather open about it, but also extremely patient.

Anna looked down at the cup of tea in her hands. She could marry him and move out of Ralph's place. Keegan was also home more often, so she'd probably be able to leave her job and spend time with him, but... despite being asked to marry him several time before, it still didn't quite feel right. He was not the man she wanted to spend her entire life with. She wanted... "Keegan, you know my answer. I'm not quite ready for marriage, yet." It was... true to an extent. She wasn't ready for marriage with anyone living here on this Earth. "You should go find yourself a girl." That sounded more insensitive than she wanted it to.

"But I have..." he mumbled. He wasn't getting any younger. In several weeks, he'd be turning forty.

Anna felt guilty. If only she had met Keegan first. She knew without a doubt that they could've been happy together. Right now, she was still foolishly holding on to the hope that the Doctor would come back for her, but thinking back to what happened to Sarah Jane Smith... it didn't seem likely. Was she throwing her future away for a man who would never return her feelings?

"Okay," she finally said.

"What?" Keegan looked at her in confusion. "Okay what?"

"Okay, I will marry you," she said, smiling as his face lit up.

"You're serious?"

She could feel a blush forcing its way to her face. Did he have to act _that_ surprised?

"You don't even want to go on dates first? Flowers? Dinners?"

Anna laughed. "Haven't we already done all that?"

He took a moment to think before nodding. "I guess we have." He smiled widely at her before moving off the couch and kneeled on one knee.

"Keegan, what are you doing?"

"Shh!" he hushed her. "Let me do this properly." He cleared his throat and retrieved something from his back pocket. "Anna Belaire, will you marry me?" The ring was beautiful – silver with a large diamond between two clear sapphires.

She held her breath. It was simple to say 'yes' before, but when he's actually kneeling in front of her, it felt completely different.

Keegan was starting to feel nervous. She was silent for far too long. Did she change her mind?

"Keegan..." She closed her eyes before opening them and smiled. "Yes, I will marry you."

He laughed and quickly placed the ring on to her finger before she could protest. "You'll be Mrs. Anna O'Connell, soon." He leaned forward and rested his forehead on hers. "Can I kiss you?"

Anna swallowed. His lips were so close and feeling him so near made her heart race. "Yes, please."

He was gentle with her, knowing that she was inexperienced. He allowed her to take the initiative, but when he felt her hand in his hair, he groaned and pressed harder.

"I love you, Anna," he whispered.

Anna smiled and continued to run her hand through his hair. "I love you, too." And a part of her _did_ love him. It was impossible for her not to. Not only had he helped her with establishing a new life in Chiswick, he also proved that he could commit to her. He would love her and only her.

"I've waited so long for you to say that."

D*O*C*T*O*R W*H*O

The next day, her coworkers saw a glowing smile on her face and the sparkling diamond that adorned her finger. They immediately rushed around her and asked who the lucky man was. "Keegan," she replied.

"O'Connell?!" Beth gasped. "The rich, hottie millionaire?! Did I mention that he was _rich_?"

Anna laughed. "Yes! He asked me last night."

From behind her, someone asked if she wanted a cup of coffee and feeling the elation, she thought it'd be alright to have just one cup. No harm in that, right?

D*O*C*T*O*R W*H*O

"Lance, one more!" She was waving her cup happily in the air, riding atop a very tired looking dark skinned man. "More! More! More!" She had already consumed six cups and was eager to get her seventh.

"No!" he groaned, wondering how much longer before his back would give out. "No more! Get off me!"

"Princess Adreanna wants more!" she exclaimed. "I will have you beheaded if you defy me!"

Lance sighed and wondered if everyone in the office was a lunatic.

Eventually, he managed to calm her down enough to dump her on to a stair step and ran away, leaving the promise that he'd retrieve another cup for her.

In her hazed set of mind, she happily stayed sitting on the step with a wide grin on her face. After several people walked by, giving her odd glances, a redheaded temp stopped and asked if she was alright.

"I'm waiting for my cup of coffee!" Anna explained.

"Are you _mad_?" came the next question.

"He said he was going to come back with a cup of coffee!"

"Exactly how long have you been waiting?"

A small frown began to form on her face. How long? She wasn't sure, but when she first ended up here, the sun was high in the sky. Now, the sun was setting. How long had she been sitting here? "He said he was going to get me a cup..." A pout appeared when she realised that he was probably not going to come back. "He promised!"

The redhead groaned. Why did she have to be so nice and stop to actually _ask_ why she was here? To be honest, she only passed by this stairwell because someone told her that a lunatic was sitting there. "And you _believe_ him?"

"He promised!" she repeated, pathetically. "Will you give me a cup?"

The redhead contemplated whether helping this woman would help her get a promotion. What if this mad woman could help her with her career... whatever that may be? "Fine. Come on," she conceded. "I'm not going to leave you here blocking the stairs."

The frown and pout quickly disappeared and a wide grin remerged. "Thank you!"

This woman was nice.

D*O*C*T*O*R W*H*O

Donna had only been temping for two days. She didn't know anyone, but wasn't particularly shy about voicing her opinions. On the second day, she had overheard a co-worker gossiping about one of the women who worked there. Immediately, she was hooked. Who was she and why were they talking about her?

She kept her eyes on the screen, but leaned slightly over to one side to listen more closely. The woman was sitting at the east wing's stairwell. Looking about her, she noticed that no one was _really_ working, so she casually announced to no one in particular that she was going to go to the loo. She walked casually towards the toilet and casually changed her path when she rounded the corner.

Step by step, she kept her eyes peeled for the woman and quickly found her just two floors down. The woman looked young, in her twenties and she was humming happily to herself, swaying side to side to the rhythm. She really had no intention to actually _speak_ with her, just to catch a glimpse, but curiosity got the best of her. What could possibly go wrong?

Donna slowly made her way over. "Are you alright?" She was cautious. This lady could possibly be lethal.

The woman turned her light grey eyes to Donna and happily declared that she was waiting for coffee.

"Are you _mad_?" Donna was starting to regret coming down here. What if she was a lunatic who had gotten a job from a family friend and was bound to return back to a mental asylum?

After having an extremely strange conversation with the woman, Donna decided to give her a bit of pity. She just wanted her coffee and whoever was supposed to return just abandoned her on the stairwell.

When she led the woman back to her floor, she began to walk towards the coffee maker, but the Head of Human Resources gestured to her. Well, at least she hoped he was gesturing to her. He was extremely attractive and the fact that he was the _head_ of a department was enough to make her comply to his every whim. He asked if she wanted coffee and at first, she said 'yes' because there was still a woman waiting for her cup, but after he poured it for her, she decided that she needed it more. Well, perhaps she didn't need it exactly, but here was an attractive bloke who just made her coffee!

Fortunately, when she returned to her cubicle, the woman was already gone. She didn't need to explain why there was now an empty cup in her hand.

D*O*C*T*O*R W*H*O

Anna groaned when she realised that she had had coffee. How did she end up with a cup in her possession... How did she end up with _six_? The coffee was making her feel jumpy and jittery, now.

How did she even end up on the eighth floor? She was certain that she had been on the stairwell... She remembered a redheaded woman helping her down and promised her coffee, but Anna quickly left after snapping out of her caffeinated stupor.

That day, when leaving the office, she managed to bump into the woman, again. She was looking much happier than she recalled. "Hello," she greeted the woman.

She seemed surprised, but smiled at her all the same. "Thank you! Thank you so much!" she exclaimed, leaving Anna extremely confused. "I'm glad that you're alright and you haven't died from coffee overdose, but I've just met the most _amazing_ man. He asked me if I wanted _coffee_ and I said _yes_. I was going to give it to you, but then how could I just give his _gift_ away. That would be _rude_ , so I drank it and it tasted fabulous. But that man! He's the Head of Human Resources. His name is _Lance_. Doesn't that sound manly? _Lance_. You know, like the sword thing."

Anna blinked at her. She wasn't sure how much actually made sense in her head, but she heard the name 'Lance' and was sure that it was the one who had abandoned her in the stairwell. She didn't blame him. Coffee made her behave oddly.

"And you know what he offered me after I finished the coffee? He said if I liked it that much, he'd make it for me _every day!"_

"That is... wonderful," Anna replied with an awkward smile. "I am glad that you had a good day."

"Yes!" the redhead exclaimed. "And it was all thanks to you! I'm Donna, by the way."

Anna laughed at her enthusiasm. "Anna. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Donna narrowed her eyes at her. "You know, you're really different without all that coffee."

"So I have been told. I really try to avoid it... most of the time."

The two woman continued to converse as they made their way down the street. Before she knew it, Anna was already in front of Ralph's apartment. "I will see you tomorrow?"

"Of course! We can have lunch together!"

Anna smiled and happily agreed. During the past seven years, she had made good friends at HC Clemens, but none she had felt any connection to. Donna, however, had a very amiable character that was impossible to resist. "I would love that."

* * *

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE_

Here it is! The sequel! I know it's been FOREVER since I've updated, but I've started watching Doctor Who again and have ever gotten to the Twelfth now. The problem is, I still need time getting used to him. He's quite different. I have, however, become less adverse to Clara. I don't know why I had such a hard time with her, but I also had a hard time with Donna when I first watched those seasons. Now, I love Donna to bits and pieces!

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to finish this installment, so it could be touch and go. I'm actually having quite a bit of trouble working with the episodes. I'm going to try really, really hard not to follow a transcript because I know that will always zap all my creativity away. Hopefully that'll work out well!

I really hope this chapter turns out alright. I can't wait to hear from you guys.

 _Echo_


	2. The Dragon

**CHAPTER 2: THE DRAGON**

"And oh my God, I can't believe that he just _left_ her." Anna was watching as Donna rambled on about one of her favourite television shows. "What kind of man does that? I'm sure that _Lance_ wouldn't, though." A dreamy look passed by the redhead's face.

Ever since the day of the coffee incident, Donna had been talking about Lance nonstop. Everything seemed to be indirectly related to him.

"Is that scarf new?" Donna reached over and gently rubbed the fabric in her hand. "Is it silk? I wonder if Lance's hair would be that soft... if he had hair... He's still very looking without hair, isn't he? Not a lot of people can pull it off."

Anna laughed and nodded complacently.

"And Lance, he's just the sweetest!" Donna squealed. "He's been making me coffee _every day_. I think you're my good luck charm. Can I bring you home with me? I'm sure Keegan wouldn't mind. If you ever decide not to marry him and if it doesn't work out with Lance and I, can I have him?"

Anna smiled. She wasn't sure what to say and thankfully, because she was talking to Donna, she didn't have to stay in an awkward silence for long.

"There he is, now! I think he's going to make me coffee!"

Anna looked behind her. Indeed, Lance was standing in front of the coffee machine, pouring a cup of coffee. When he was done, he turned around and smiled at them, walking over. "Coffee?"

Donna sighed happily. "Thanks, Lance. You know, I wouldn't mind if you made me coffee for the rest of my life. Would you marry me?"

The man looked taken aback. "I-I think I should go back to work. See you, Anna... Donna."

The look on his face confused Anna. He looked rather spiteful of the idea. It was true that the question came out of nowhere, but the reaction seemed inappropriate, nonetheless. He _has_ been making her coffee every day. If he didn't like her, why was he leading her on?

"Isn't he fabulous?"

"I do not think he is..." She bit her lips. "I do not think he is the one for you."

Donna frowned at her before waving her hand dismissively. "He just needs time. After we're married, you'll see." She dreamily gazed off into the distance.

Anna didn't continue to argue. Donna wasn't listening to reason. Besides, Lance really wasn't anything special. In fact, he behaved rather oddly. The only times he'd approach them was to bring Donna coffee. He didn't spend too long talking to her and he didn't meet her outside of work. He also didn't make anyone else coffee.

For the next few months, Donna's enthusiasm didn't let up. She continued to speak animatedly about Lance, despite Anna's protests. The platinum blonde really hoped that the redhead wouldn't do anything she'd regret, but one day, Donna plopped down on to the hard, wooden cafe chair and exclaimed, "He asked me to marry him!"

Anna tilted her head, trying to process what her friend had just said. "He asked you to... marry him?" There was a tone of disbelief in her voice. That didn't seem like the Lance she knew. On several occasions, she had witnessed Donna ask _him_ to marry her and each time, he rushed off as fast as he could. What made him change his mind?

"Alright, so _I_ asked him to marry me, but he said _yes_!" she squealed. "Oh, my God. I can't wait for the wedding."

"Wedding?" Anna pursed her lips. "Is it not just a bit rash to wed so quickly? He has not had the time to properly court you."

"Court me?" Donna scoffed. "What are we, in the Victorian era? At least I'm not eloping!"

With a sigh, Anna conceded. Really, how bad could it be? They could also divorce, now, if they're unhappy. "I only want you to be sure that you want to marry him."

"Of course, I do!" she swooned. "You're not telling me to _not_ marry him because _you_ want to, right?"

Anna shook her head profusely. "I have no interest in him."

"Good, 'cause you know – Keegan," Donna smirked at Anna who blushed at the name of her fiancé. "When are you gonna marry _him_? We could have a double wedding, you know."

"I do not want to rush it," she replied.

"You've known him for seven years! That's not _rushing_! You should've married him _years_ ago," Donna exclaimed.

Anna looked down and twirled the ring around her ring finger. "I am just... unsure if I should marry him." Even after all these years, she still couldn't help but think about the Doctor. By now, she knew it was impossible that he'd come back for her, but a part of her really wanted to keep hoping.

"Well, why not?"

"I am not ready." She didn't _want_ to move on.

"Maybe you want to reconsider soon, 'cause he looks rather cozy with that woman there."

Anna quickly whirled around in her seat and saw that he was, indeed, walking very close with another woman. They were talking and laughing about something. Immediately, she felt something tight in her chest. She hadn't felt this way since leaving the Doctor. Was she... jealous?

"Go on, I'll pay up... for now. Pay me back tomorrow!" Donna yelled as Anna rushed out the door.

When she was several paces away, she stopped. What was she doing? Wasn't she still pining over the Doctor? Besides, she should trust him to be faithful. It'll be alright.

"Keegan?" Anna stopped behind him, wondering why she had spoken up.

Her brunet fiancé turned and immediately, a warm smile spread across her face. "Anna!" He took a step forward and wrapped his arms around her. "What are you doing here?" he whispered into her hair.

Anna smiled, reassured. "I was eating lunch with Donna and saw you here." She looked up at him. "I thought you had a meeting, today."

"I did," he replied, looking back down at her. "I was just going to grab something to eat, myself." He noticed Anna looking over his shoulder and the woman he was accompanying. He broke away, but stayed beside her, holding her hand. "Anna, meet Angelica. Angelica, Anna."

"Hello," Anna greeted the other woman with an awkward wave. Angelica didn't look particularly happy and didn't reply.

"Are you and Donna still eating at the cafe? We can eat together."

Anna smiled and nodded. "She will be glad that I will not owe her money."

Keegan laughed. "She's like that, isn't she? Come on, before she gets fussy."

"Keegan," Angelica spoke up with a frown on her face. "I thought we were going to Santorelli's? I don't want to go to some small, dirty cafe to eat."

"Cafe Claire is clean," Keegan replied. "I've eaten there with Anna before and Anna always goes there with her friend. It'll be fine. Come on."

"I _don't_ want to go." Angelica stood her ground, glaring at them. "If you go with her, the deal is off."

Anna felt Keegan stiffen beside her. "Go. I will be fine. You can make it up to me tonight." She could still see the hesitation in his eyes. "I do not want to hinder you in any business endeavours."

Keegan stroked her hand absentmindedly. "I'll definitely make it up to you." He leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. "See you in a few hours."

She nodded with a smile. "See you."

Instead of going back to the cafe, Anna walked back to Keegan's house.

She lounged on the couch with the television on. It had been two hours and she was feeling slightly anxious. Maybe she shouldn't have let him go with Angelica. What if Keegan decided that he liked her more? Anna didn't want to dwell on the thought.

Not long after, she heard the door open and she jolted to a standing position. "Welcome home!" she greeted him with a hug.

He chuckled into her hair. "Excited for dinner?"

She shook her head. "Just glad to see you back. I missed you."

"How long have you been waiting? I thought you'd be spending a little more time with Donna."

"I came back here after I finished lunch."

Keegan smiled and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "Well, we have time before I'll be feeling like eating, again. Do you want to stay here or do a bit of walking outside?"

"Do you want to go look at wedding dresses?" she blurted out. What was she saying?

He, too, looked rather taken aback, but quickly recovered. "You want to... looking at wedding dresses?" The confusion dissipated immediately and a wide grin spread across his face. "You really want to look at wedding dresses?"

Looking rather uncertain, she nodded. "Donna is getting married, soon, and... I have just been wondering about us."

"I don't want to rush you, but if you really want to go. I won't be complaining." He held her tighter. "I've been waiting for the day to properly call you Mrs. Anna O'Connell."

She smiled and felt bad that she didn't feel the same enthusiasm as he did. Maybe she really was rushing this, but she was only going to be looking. What could possibly go wrong?

D*O*C*T*O*R W*H*O

"I am tiiiiiired," Anna whined. She had been trying on wedding dresses for _hours_. "And I am _hot_."

He laughed at her, sitting comfortably in an armchair in front of the dressing room. "I'm rather enjoying this myself. Maybe a few more."

"No!" she protested with a pout on her face. "I want to eat, now! You promised me a fantastic dinner and it is getting late."

With a smile, he conceded and the two of them left for the restaurant.

She sighed in relief when they were seated in a private corner. "My feet hurt."

"Take off your shoes and lift your legs up."

Confused, Anna reluctantly complied. She lifted her legs up and felt Keegan place them on his lap. His hands began to passage her aching feet and she sighed contently. "After I marry you, will you do this for me all the time?"

"If you want." He smiled. He gently placed her legs back down and leaned over the table. She smiled shyly back at him and leaned over as well. "I love you, Anna," he whispered against her lips. "I'll do anything for you."

Before she could reply, a loud sound resonated in the restaurant. People were screaming and children were crying. Her heart raced as she stood up, trying to see what was happening. "Let's go!" Keegan was immediately by her side, tugging her hand.

"What happened?" she asked as they ran out through the back door.

"I don't know, but I saw blood," he replied, shaking his head. "It could be a terrorist attack."

They raced through the parking lot where many others were also trying to get to their car. Suddenly, something dropped in front of them, leaving a sizable crater.

The black creature was enormous with large wings, a long snout and neck, and sharp teeth. It roared before swooping down and snatched a stunned man from the ground. He screamed, but it chomped down, spraying blood everywhere and rendering him silent.

"This way!" Keegan led her around the creature and continued their way to his car. Before they were able to get to safety, the creature had seized a car with its powerful jaw and flung it across the parking lot. The vehicle had narrowly missed the couple and slammed into Keegan's red Ferrari. He cursed and changed their route, once more. "What the Hell is that thing?"

Anna looked down. "A Grovus," she replied.

Keegan nearly stopped, not expecting a reply. Instead, he stayed silent and wondered if she was going to continue.

"They are from the planet Grovania. I have never seen one on Earth before." Anna, in the seven years they had known each other, had never told him about what she was. She didn't think that there was really a need with the Doctor gone. Neither did she really think that they'd end up so intimately involved. "Usually, they are friendly, but... I guess in a foreign place, it is frightened and is lashing out blindly."

"Friendly..." Keegan snorted. "That dragon doesn't look friendly to me."

She shook her head. "I have read about them and they have never-" She was cut off as something struck her from behind. She fell to the ground and struggled to get up as pain flared up in her body.

"Anna!"

"Go!" she urged him. "I will be fine." She winced when she touched a wet spot growing on her back.

"Fuck no," he growled and picked her up. "Who do you think I am? Who do you think you are to me?" He shifted their weight.

Anna looked over his shoulder and saw that the Grovus had locked in on them and was quickly charging forward. Realising that there was no other choice, she took a deep breath and shifted her body.

Keegan frowned when he felt her squirm. She was throwing him off balance. "Anna, stop mov –" His eyes widened when he heard a rip and a pair of white feathered wings burst from her back. The extra appendages toppled them over, but just as he was about to hit the floor, his feet left the ground. He looked down, startled to see that the dark pavement was so far. "Oh, my God..."

"Hold on," Anna instructed him as she zigzagged through the air. "Is it still following us?"

He really didn't want to look back, but he turned his head and took a peek. "Yeah. It seems to have its eyes set on us."

Suddenly, a beam of red light struck the Grovus. It roared in pain and anger before plunging down, but stopped when a transparent blue beam kept it in place in the air.

Keegan felt his lunch rush up his esophagus as his body swung around. "Sorry," he heard her quickly apologize when she abruptly turned.

Anna looked confusingly at it and followed the light to see a dark ship. A familiar man waved enthusiastically at her with a remote control in his hand. "Hey, angel! Who's the hottie you're holding?"

"Jack!" Anna exclaimed happily, her face lighting up.

"Jack?" The con man suggestively raised an eyebrow. "That's a great name."

She laughed. She has missed his humour. "No, this is Keegan, my fiancé."

The smile on the other's man face dimmed. "Fiancé? What happened to the Doctor?" As he watched the woman's face fall, he clenched his hands. That idiot. Jack somehow _knew_ that the Time Lord was going to mess up. "And... Rose?" He knew this wasn't a safe topic, but he had to know. The list for the deceased after the battle at Canary Whorf was extensive – among them was Rose Tyler.

"She is... gone," Anna replied with a sad look on her face.

"Oh..."

"This reunion is wonderful," Keegan grumbled. "But can I get my feet on something solid, now? I think I'm starting to get a bit sick."

Anna blinked at him as if she just realizing that he was still barely hanging on to her. "Sorry." She laughed before flying over to the ship and gently placed him beside Jack. "Keegan, this is Jack Harkness. He's a con man."

"Not anymore!" Jack argues. "I'm kind of working for Torchwood, now."

"Torchwood?" Anna frowned. Why was he working for the very place that had caused so much trouble? "You know that that is the organisation that –"

"I know, but I want to change it," he replied. "And I _know_ that I can do it from the inside. Trust me, yeah? You can come and see for yourself, right now."

Anna nodded. "Alright."

"Anna." Keegan had walked over and rested his head on top of hers. "Please."

"Actually, can I take the rain check for your offer to see Torchwood?"

Jack glanced at Keegan and nodded. "Sure. I'll take you down and see you soon? Give me a call." He took out a pen and reached out for her hand before writing quickly scribbling down his number.

"See you, soon, Jack." She reached out to hug him. "It is wonderful to see that you are alive. I really thought that… that was the last time I would ever see you."

"Don't worry," he reassured her. "I'm far too tough to be defeated by a few measly Daleks."

She laughed. "Of course."

D*O*C*T*O*R W*H*O

When they arrived back to Keegan's manor, there was an uncomfortable silence between them. Keegan plopped down on to the black leather couch and pulled Anna down on to his lap. "When were you going to tell me?" He watched as she looked guilty down at her hands. "Were you _ever_ going to tell me?"

"Keegan, I – "

"I wouldn't have mind," he interrupted. "I wouldn't have mind never knowing. Isn't that terrible of me? But even though I know that you're not quite human…" Anna opened her mouth to correct him, but Keegan quickly beckoned for her to hush. "I still love you," he finished. "I love everything about you, but I don't' think I can handle all this alien stuff.

"It's just too much. I'm happy with my life. I'm happy with the way things were." He paused. "But I don't think I'll be able to accept anything else."

Anna looked uncertainly at her lap. "There is so much more in this world and humans… soon all of you would spread across three galaxies and my God, you'd be brilliant." She cupped his face and gently kissed him on the lips. "You shouldn't be afraid of the unknown."

He sighed and closed his eyes. "So what are you?" he murmured, kissing her back.

"I'm half Seraphixian and half human." She closed her eyes as well and snuggled against him. "I was born in the year of seventeen – seventy. My father was the King of France; my brother a spoiled brat; and mother a full Seraphixian. I…" She bit her lips. "I can't grow old with you," she whispered. She remembered similar words uttered by a man in her past. Why hadn't she thought of it earlier? She couldn't grow old with him. How would she be able to handle seeing him wither and fade away?

He stroked her hand. "If I don't die in some freak accident, I'd still have at least fifty years with you."

Not a long time, she thought.

"When I first fell for you, I felt like such a pedophile," he confessed, letting out a soft laugh. "You looked underage when you walked into that dealer's shop and I was already thirty-two. How ironic that you're more than two hundred years older than me." He chuckled mirthlessly as he played with her fingers. "I love you so much, Anna. I really want to spend the rest of my life with you, even if you can't do the same with me."

Tears prickled her eyes. "I want to do that, too." And she did. No matter how much a part of her would always pine for the Doctor, Keegan had picked up the shattered pieces that were scattered when she was kicked out of the TARDIS.

"Then for the next fifty years, let's forget about everything that happened, today. Just a hallucination from drinking too much wine."

She laughed through her tears and nodded "No more wine, then."

Despite promising Keegan that everything that had happened would be left behind them, she managed to contact Jack and met up with him. Keegan had a mandatory meeting in a neighbouring city and told her that he wouldn't be home under late that night.

After meeting up with Jack, he led her into his ship before taking her to Torchwood Three. He introduced her to the group. It was nice meeting them, but she had the impression that some of them didn't like her. The most eventful thing was when Ianto Jones made her a cup of coffee.

She knew she shouldn't have even touched it, but it smelled so good! Just the scent of it made her heart race with anticipation. Only one sip, she tried to convince herself.

When came next was a blur, but she vaguely recalled Jack trying to pry her away from Ianto whose face was starting to turn blue from her arms wound around his neck. She wasn't trying to kill him, of course. She just wanted more coffee.

After a couple of hours, she felt the caffeine crash send her falling haphazardly on to the couch. "Why did you let me drink coffee?" she whined to Jack who indulgently showed his sympathy. He had also taken the opportunity to cuddle close to her.

In her state of disarray, Jack managed to subtly turn the conversation towards the Doctor. Through her daze, she told Jack how he had left her in the middle of nowhere with absolutely nothing. By the end of the story, the former con man was livid.

"It is alright." Anna held on to his sleeve as if worried that Jack was going to rush off to pummel the Time Lord. "I am over it, now. Besides, I am happily engaged to Keegan."

"Are you?" Jack looked into Anna's grey orbs. "Your speech is regressing."

"Hmm?"

"Use contradictions."

Anna blinked at the familiar words and smiled. Those were the words that tipped her off that he was still alive. "Okay. I'm sorry."

"There we go!" Jack hopped off the couch. "Let's go get some ice cream!"

Anna smiled and took his hand.

* * *

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE_

Here's the second chapter to the sequel! I hope it turned out alright.

Thank you **Sayuri494, NutterButter123, Lucyloo95, rainbownarwhal,** and **LilyHiddleston96** for reviewing!

 **Sayuri494** : Why does the Doctor just have to be so difficult all the time? I'm sure if he'd just admit his feelings and stop being scared, he would've been happily with Anna by now. (I swear that's not my fault!)

 **Lucyloo95** : Nooo, don't take away my coffee‼!

I'd also like to thank everyone who has favourited and followed this story.

I'm glad I haven't lost all of you during my long hiatus between the first story and this one. At least I hope not…

Happy Holidays!

 _Echo_


	3. The Wedding

**CHAPTER 3: THE WEDDING**

When Anna arrived back at Keegan's manor, he was still absent. She sighed a relief. His aversion towards half of her heritage was troubling. No matter how genuine he was to accepting her, the extraterrestrial events will always manage to find a part in her life. She really wanted him to understand the wonders of the universe.

His first impression may have not been the best, but there was so much more good to see and experience. She fiddled with the ring on her finger.

"Still up?" The bed sank down and two arms pulled her down on to a warm lap. "I'm sorry, I'm home so late."

Anna looked into warm brown eyes and couldn't help but smile. "It's alright," she whispered, touching his cheek tenderly. "I'm glad you're home."

There was a hint of surprise on his face, but just as quickly, it disappeared. "Had a good day?"

She frowned. "It was alright." Her hand travelled up to his hair and tugged it gently. "How was your day?"

"Boring and lonely," he replied, scrunching up his face to emphasize how terrible his day was. "I missed you ."

She smiled.

"Oh, I bumped into your friend today and she gave me this." He handed her a white envelope.

She deftly opened it and nearly dropped it. "It's a wedding invitation!" she exclaimed in shock. "With Lance! But she's only know him for…" She frowned and tried to remember when they first met. "Less than six months ago! She said she wanted him to marry her, but I didn't think she was this serious…" Something about Lance really irked her. Verbally, he said all the right things, especially through Donna's rose-tinted glasses, but outwardly, he seemed quite… displeased with the redhead's mere presence. "I hope he'll treat her well…"

The two weeks before Donna's wedding was hectic. Anna has been helping her search for dresses during the rush of the holiday season. Eventually, Donna settled for a simple white wedding dress for herself and a pastel green dress for the Maid of Honour, which she happily bestowed the title upon Anna.

On the day of the wedding, it felt as if Hell had risen amongst the Noble family. Donna's mother, Sylvia, was caught between shouting anxiously at everyone and being unreasonably unsympathetic towards Donna who was on the brink of a break down.

"Donna, it'll be alright," Anna tried to comfort her friend.

Donna was pacing nervously while a couple of women were trying to put finishing touches on her wedding dress. "What if Lance isn't there? Oh, my God. What if he leaves me waiting at the altar? I'll be the laughing stock of the century! I bet Nerys would have something to do with it! I'm going to _kill_ her!"

Anna watched in amusement as Donna continued to rant. The redhead was interrupted as her mother began to shout that the ceremony was going to start soon.

"Oh, my God!" Donna exclaimed one last time before rushing out the door with Anna right behind her.

In front of the door, Donna seemed to immediately gather herself together and became surprisingly calm. She had a smile on her face that was the epitome of happiness and serenity. With a bouquet of flowers in one hand and her father occupying the other side of her arm, she walked down the central aisle way with confidence and anticipation.

Anna caught Keegan's eye and smiled as she noticed him checking her out. She turned her attention back to Donna. The smile instantly disappeared when she noticed that the bride was glowing gold.

In another moment, Donna disappeared. Anna could still hear the terrified scream in her head.

Keegan was by her side in a second as the room became full of confusion and panic. Where did Donna go?

"See it once and it'll always follow me around…" Keegan grumbled unhappily, but stopped when Anna dug her elbow into his ribs.

"Donna's disappeared. We need to find out what happened," she told him. She looked around with a frown on her face. "Why isn't anyone else worried like me?" she asked just as Nerys suggested that they might as well enjoy the reception since it was paid for already.

Instinctively, Anna reached for her cell phone, but silently cursed when she realised that her dress had no pockets and neither did Donna's. "What are we going to do?" She turned towards Keegan, but he wasn't beside her, anymore. Instead, he was sagged down on a chair with his face in his hands. "Keegan?" She walked up to him and kneeled down. "Keegan, are you alright?"

"I can't do this," he whispered back to her, shaking his head. "I can't…" He trailed off and remained silent.

Anna didn't know how else to comfort him. With her friend disappearing and everything in a frenzy, this was the last thing she wanted to deal with. "Keegan, all of this has always been around you – one way or another. Remember the Christmas last year – the pilot fish?" That was an odd moment for her. She had lived it once with the Doctor, aboard the alien ship, and she had lived it once as a normal civilian. "Right now, Donna might be on an enemy alien ship. She might be scared, injured, or _dead_. I don't want to have to worry about you, too!

You both mean so much to me, but I need your support, right now. Yes, all of this is _alien._ Yes, it might take a little time to get used to, but this is _not_ the time to break down. I need you, Keegan. _Please_."

Perhaps it was the desperation in her voice or the realisation that his fiancée really needed him, now, but he managed to gather himself together and stood up. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her gently on the temple of her head. "I'm sorry," he apologised. "You're right. Come on, let's go find Donna."

Anna smiled gratefully at him and kissed the corner of his lips. "Thank you."

Suddenly, they heard Sylvia shout in annoyance. "What do you mean you're on Earth?!"

Anna immediately rushed over to her and snatched the phone away. "Donna?!"

"Anna! I'm on Earth, but I don't know where I am! There's an ATM machine and these stupid Santas playing the trumpet." Donna continued to rant, but the blonde had paled and stopped listening after hearing about the Santas. "And I was kidnapped by a _Martian_!"

"What?" A Martian? Anna shook herself out of it. "Donna, listen. Stay as far away from those Santas as possible. Don't get into any random cars and don't trust anyone. Keegan and I are going to come and get you, alright? What street are y – " The phone disappeared from her hand and she looked into the angry eyes of Sylvia Noble.

"How dare you steal my phone?!"

"Sylvia, I was talking to Donna! Hand me the phone. I'll give it back to you once I know your _daughter_ is safe!" It was useless. Sylvia even had the audacity to make a show of turning off the phone and Anna let out a suppressed scream of frustration. What was she going to do, now?

Keegan directed her away before she could do anything she'd regret. "I don't understand what is going through that woman's head! What are we going to do with Donna, now? I was so close!" She collapsed into his arms.

Not long after, they were sitting helplessly in a corner while everyone else was eating and dancing to overly loud music. No one seemed to remember that the bride had disappeared in a way that was beyond current human technology. Were humans this heartless or were they just ignorant?

Anna was especially pissed off with Lance who had been happily dancing with Nerys for the past ten minutes.

Suddenly, everything grew quiet and Anna looked around in confusion. Why did everyone stop?

"You had the reception _without me?_ "

Her heart skipped a beat at the familiar voice and she managed to look beyond a tall potted plant in front of her. "Donna!" She jumped to her feet and rushed over to the redhead and embraced her. "Donna, I was so worried!"

"I'm glad _someone_ missed me," the redhead remarked, dryly. Donna stepped away from her friend and started to shout, but burst out crying almost instantly after.

Startled, Anna was about to move back towards her, but with a discrete wink from the redhead, she couldn't help but laugh at her friend's antics. It was then she realised that there was another presence behind her. She turned around and looked into ageless brown eyes.

D*O*C*T*O*R W*H*O

The Doctor rushed in after Donna, fully expecting a room of panic. Instead, there was loud music and people were having fun. What unusual people…

He looked on with great interest at everyone's reactions and when Donna finally exclaimed her displease, he could barely contain his amusement. It would be extremely rude to laugh in such circumstances… Did that also apply to thoughts of amusement? Ah, well… He was happy to keep the title of "rude and not ginger." Sounds about right. Maybe he could just take a sample of Donna's hair and –

A blur of mint green zoomed by and latched on to the redhead. Before he could even catch a glimpse of the person's face, he immediately knew who she was. The beautiful, glossy platinum hair that was nearly silver could only belong to one person.

This person had been on his mind all day and although it had only been several hours since he last saw her, much time seemed to have passed for his… former companion.

She didn't even seem to have noticed him. Her entire focus was on her friend who had just burst into tears.

Eventually, she turned around and looked him straight into the eyes. His hearts skipped a beat. She looked absolutely beautiful in the tight dress and the way she was looking at him…

He groaned and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"You're back," she whispered. He could see the sadness in her eyes. "Seven years…" His hearts dropped. Had it really been that long for her? "I waited seven years… Why are you back, now?" Tears welled up in her eyes and slid down her cheeks, leaving a faded streak of black. "I finally came to terms with myself that you were never going to come back for me…" He looked down. "… But you didn't come back for me, did you? You came here by coincidence because of Donna…" He swallowed hard and tried to find the right words to say to her. "Did you ever think about me, again, after you abandoned me? Did you ever care?"

"I-I'm sorry…" he lamely replied. He couldn't think of anything that would make her feel better.

Anna let out a sob and turned around. "I don't… I don't want to see you, again. I wouldn't be able to bear watching you leave…"

At that moment, a tall brunette man arrived by her side and looked confusedly between Anna and him. When the man caught sight that she was crying, he immediately embraced her and aimed a glare at his direction.

The Doctor watched with a frown on his face. He could feel an instant dislike for the stranger. Who gave him the right to touch her like that? It's so… so… so improper!

"Anna, one more time?" he found himself saying before thinking. For a moment, he actually wondered what he meant. She looked at him questioningly. "One more adventure for old time's sake?" There was an unbearable silence that settled between them and the Doctor was already feeling foolish for hoping that she would ever agree. Idiot. Idiot. Idiot.

"Keegan, return home without me. I'll come back shortly." She took the man's hand into her own and gave him a small peck on the lips.

Oh, it wasn't merely dislike that the Doctor had for the stranger, now. Oh, no. He absolutely _loathed_ the man.

"Anna, you're not going to – "

 _ **Boom!**_

They jumped as the Christmas tree that was placed on the far side wall life up from the floor. The baubles were floating around it and exploding like mini bombs.

"Get down!" the Doctor shouted to everyone. "Get behind a table!"

Anna quickly turned to Keegan. "Go! I'll be alright. I know how much you hate all of this. I can't leave Donna's family, but I'll be a lot happier and have a much clearer mind if you're safe at home." She began to push him out the door. "Don't open the door for anyone and _don't_ accept any present, especially Christmas trees." She stopped when she saw a robot Santa marching towards them.

Realising that she didn't have much choice, Anna concentrated to summon a soft blue energy ball in her hand. Instead of its normal solid colour, there was a swirl of gold mixed in. The ball of energy was also smaller than usual and it took much more effort to produce. Dismissing her thoughts, she quickly threw it at the Santa. It exploded upon contact.

Anna rushed Keegan into the car, kissed him goodbye, and ran back inside. She let out a deep breath. The gold tinge could only mean one thing: she was living on borrowed time, again.

"One more time, Doctor!" she shouted at the man who beamed back at her. The Santas were deactivated and the baubles were shattered on the floor. The crowd was still in a panic, but the danger was over.

"Lance, where do you work, again?" he asked the dark-skinned man.

"HC Clemens," Lance replied with a confused look on his face.

"What do they do?"

"They make keys. Security and stuff," Donna answered for him.

The Doctor gave them all a calculating look before whisking them off to HC Clemens.

D*O*C*T*O*R W*H*O

Anna wondered if she had made a mistake in taking up on the Doctor's offer. It wasn't that she was afraid of whatever were after Donna. No, she was scared of slipping back into that lifestyle. With Keegan, she would never be able to immerse herself with anything exciting, again.

"Anna?" Donna came up beside her. "You never told me that you know the Martian."

The blonde blinked. Martian… It was a small quirk of the mouth at first, but eventually, it became full blown laughter. "Martian…" Anna shook her head. "Oh, Donna… Only you." The redhead looked expectantly at her. "Yes, I've known the Doctor for a while, now. At one point, I travelled with him. I was dropped off, though…"

"What? You weren't alien enough for him?"

Anna smiled at Donna's lackadaisical tone. "Not quite…"

"What are you girls laughing about?" The Doctor walked over with a confused look on his face. Unfortunately, when he arrived, it only sent Anna into another laughing fit. "Oh, not again. Girls!" He huffed.

No matter how much she wanted to stay angry at him, all the warm memories came rushing back. What a despicable man… How dare he make himself so lovable.

She sighed and twisted the engagement ring around her finger. "Come on, Donna. Before he… leaves us behind."

They peeked into the elevator as the Doctor who looked at the buttons curiously. "Why is there a button marked 'lower basement?' There's a whole floor, which doesn't exist on the official plans… So what's down there, then?"

"It needs a key," Donna pointed out.

"I don't," the Doctor replied with confidence as he sonics the button panel. "Right, then. Thanks you two. I can handle this. See you later." He pulls Anna in with one hand and waves to the other two with the other.

Donna scoffed and stepped into the elevator. "No chance, Martian. You're the man who keeps saving my life. I ain't letting you out of my sight. Besides, you have my best friend hostage!"

'Best friend?' Anna saw the Doctor mouth at her and she shrugged before nodding.

"Thanks, Donna." She smiled at the redhead who smiled back at her.

"Lance?" Donna looked expectantly at her fiancé who seemed reluctant to join the trio.

He backed away, shaking his head. "Maybe I should go to the police."

"Inside."

He stepped in, meekly.

"To honour and obey?" the Doctor teased.

"Tell me about it, mate."

"Oi!"

As they descended the floors, Anna was growing more and more anxious What were they going to find down there?

When the door opened, they were met with the sight of a chemistry lab. Tall tubes of blue liquid were bubbling away.

The Doctor retrieved a jar with clear liquid from a nearby rack and brought it to Donna. "Brilliant. They've been manufacturing Huon particles. In case my people got rid of Huons, they unravelled the atomic structure!" He was very impressed.

Anna peeked at the jar. She had never heard of Huon particles before.

"Your people? Who are they? What company do you represent?" Lance seemed oddly concerned – more so about the Doctor than the strange substance that they had just uncovered.

"Oh, I'm a freelancer," the Doctor replied, waving his hand dismissively. "But this lot are rebuilding them. They've been using the Thames! Extruding them through a flat hydrogen base so they've got the end result – Huon particles in liquid form." He ended his speech by twisting a small knob on the cap.

Donna began to glow a beautiful gold. "Oh, my God!" she exclaimed in shock. What shocked them more was that Anna also had a faint tinge around her. "You're glowing, too!" Donna pointed at the other girl.

Anna looked at her hand in amazement. Could it just be the time vortex that was inside her?

"Because the particles are inert, they need something living to catalyse inside and that's you." The Doctor continued his explanation while scanning Anna with his screwdriver. "Saturate the body and then… HA!" Both females jumped. "The wedding! Yes, you're getting married, that's it! Best day of your life; walking down the aisle. Oh, your body's a battleground! There's a chemical war inside. Adrenaline, acetylcholine, WHAM go the endorphins. Oh, you're cooking! Yeah, you're like a walking oven – all churning away. The particles reach boiling point, SHAZAM!"

Donna slapped him.

Anna burst out laughing.

"What did I do this time?" he cried out in indignation.

"Are you enjoying this?" The redhead glanced at him.

The Doctor gave her a sheepish look.

"They just love to slap you." The platinum blonde grinned. "Figured out what I lowed, too?"

He shrugged. "You must have some in you, too or maybe…" He looked thoughtfully at his screwdriver. "Dunno!"

"So!" Donna gathered attention back to her. "Tell me, these particles… are they dangerous? Am I… Are _we_ safe?"

"Yes." The Doctor nodded with an uncertain look on his face.

"Doctor, if your lot got rid of Huon particles… why did they do that?"

The Doctor looked at her indulgently. "Because they were deadly."

Anna snorted. "I don't feel like dying before I'm married, either, Doctor."

He looked at her in shock before glancing down at her hands. "You're getting married, soon? Since when? With who?"

"With Keegan!" she replied in exasperation. "Besides, why – " Anna froze as realisation hit her. Her gaze momentarily flitted to Lance before looking back at the Doctor who had a confused expression on his face. "This means nothing," she quickly whispered to him before smashing her lips against his, causing him to let out a muffled cry of surprise. She broke away just as quickly. "It's Lance," she said in a hushed voice. "The coffee."

"What?" There was a dazed look on his face.

"I'm not sure about marrying Keegan, anymore," she said this louder.

"What?"

She groaned at how much of an idiot he was before pulling him by his tie and whispered into his ears. "He gave me coffee, one day. It was the day I met Donna. You know how I react to coffee, so he never approached me with a cup, again, but Donna was infatuated with him. He's been making her coffee for the past _six months_." She needed it with a hard nip to the lobe of his ear for show.

"Ow! What did you do that for?" he complained, rubbing at his throbbing ear.

Anna was stolen by Donna before he could get a reply.

Instead of being reprimanding, the first thing that flew out of Donna's lips was, "Is he a good kisser?"

Why did Anna expect any different? "That kiss meant nothing. don't tell Keegan, _please_." Donna nodded. "You'll understand everything soon, alright?" She nodded, again. This was going too smoothly… What was going through her redheaded friend's head? "Thanks, Donna."

Suddenly a resonating voice pierced through the air. "So many secret." It was a female voice that hissed. "None of them will help you because you're already lost."

A door opened up on one of the walls. They peek in. It was dark and littered with webs.

Anna caught sight of a familiar pair of black and white shoes and gasped. "Donna," she whispered to the redhead and pointed to the shoes that were dangling from a large clump of webs. "Look!"

Donna gasped, as well. "Oh, my God." It was those tacky shoes that HC Clemens always wore.

"I have waited so long, hibernating at the edge of the universe…" The voice returned. "… Until the secret heart was uncovered and called out to waken!"

Robot Santas began to march towards them and Lance quickly scampered off. Anna glared at his fleeing form.

"Only a madman talks to thin air and trust me, you don't want to make me mad," the Doctor warned the disembodied voice. "Where are you?"

"High in the sky," came the reply. "Floating so high on Christmas Night."

"Come on! Let's have a look at you!"

"Who are you with such command?" the voice sneered.

"I'm the Doctor."

The voice didn't know who he was, but within the next moment, a large, snarling spider-like form appeared in front of them.

"The Racnoss…" The Doctor frowned at her. "But that's impossible. You're one of the Racnoss!"

" _Empress_ of the Racnoss," she corrected him.

"If you're the Empress… where's the rest of the Racnoss? Or… are you the only one?" From the look on her face, he knew he was right. "That's it – the last of your kind." He turned to Donna. "The Racnoss came from the Dark Times – billions of years ago. _Billions._ They were carnivores – omnivores – they devoured whole _plants_."

"Racnoss are born starving," the Empress argued. "Is that our fault?"

There was a look of realisation on Donna's face. "Oh, my God." She looked back to the black and white shoes. "They eat _humans_?"

The Doctor nodded solemnly before turning back to the Racnoss Empress. "You shouldn't even exit! Way back in history, the Fledgling Empires went to war against the Racnoss. They were wiped out."

"Except for me."

Donna caught sight of Lance slowly creeping up behind the Racnoss and tried to distract her. "But that's what I've got inside me – that Huon energy thing. Oi! Look at me, lady. I'm talking. Where do I fit in? How come I get all stacked up with these Huon particles?" There was a glint in the darkness. Donna could see the axe in Lance's hand and hope bloomed inside her. She was happy that her fiancé was so clever. "Look at me, you! Look me in the eye and tell me."

Anna stepped closer to Donna, feeling guilty for what would come next. Was she a bad friend for telling her? She wanted Donna to realise it on her own because she knew that her redheaded friend would always see Lance with rose-tinted lenses. Donna would never believe that he would betray her like that.

"The bride is so feisty!" the Racnoss cackled.

"Yes, I am!" Donna huffed. "And I don't know what you are, you big… thing, but a spider's just a spider and an axe is an axe. No, _do it_!"

Anna frowned at how Lance was playing his role so well, even now. The axe rose slowly and swiftly sliced down through the air, but stopped just inches away from the Racnoss. "I'm sorry, Donna," she whispered as both Lance and the Empress burst out laughing.

"Lance is funny," the Empress snickered.

"What?" Donna had such a heart broken look on her face.

"I'm so, so sorry," the Doctor whispered.

Donna had a confused and frazzled look on her face. "Sorry for what? Lance, don't be so stupid! Get her!"

With a mockingly sympathetic look, Lance said, "God, she's thick."

"Donna," Anna addressed her softly. "It was Lance. He's the one who's been feeding you Huon particles." The look of disbelief appeared on her friend's face. "I… I'm so sorry, Donna. He was never worth your time. You could do so much better and I _know_ you will."

"B-but… We were going to get _married_!"

"Oh, look at her!" Lance sneered. "I never wanted to _marry_ you. God, months and months I had to put up with her. _Months_. A woman who can't even point to Germany on a map." He could still see the doubt on Donna's face. "Did you think that I made coffee for you because I _liked_ you?"

"We were going to get married…" she repeated, dejectedly.

"Well, I couldn't risk you running off. I _had_ to say yes. And then I was stuck with a woman who thinks the height of excitement is a new flavour crisp. Oh, I had to sit there and listen to all that yap yap yap. "Oh, Brad and Angelina! Is Posh pregnant?" X Factor, Atkins Diet, Feng Shui, split ends, text me, text me, text me. Dear God, the never ending fountain of fat, stupid trivia." He smirked in triumph as Donna's face fell. "I deserve a medal." Instead of stopping there, he continued on. "Did you know that you weren't even my first target? With a face like that, who would want to see it every day ?"

For the first time in her life, Donna was speechless and left absolutely heartbroken.

"And you think you're so refined and wonderful?" Anna shouted back at him. She had heard enough. "There's nothing particularly special about you. You have an average job with a moderate amount of wealth. You're so unsatisfied with your life that you agreed to be this thing's… this thing's… _consort_! You know what? I know I even feel sorry for the Racnoss having to have to tolerate your vile, mediocre presence. You are a traitorous, asshole who's… who's… who's _BALD_!"

The Doctor had been impress at first, but by the end of her rant, he ended up bursting into laughter. It wasn't only him who was amused, Donna now sported a grin and even the Empress' lips were quirked upward.

" _You're_ nothing great, either," Lance hissed at Anna. "You're a _freak_. I was going to have you be my first target, but you're like a mental patient!"

The Doctor's eyes flashed angrily. He pointed his screwdriver at Lance. With the correct setting, he managed to vibrate the molecules below Lance's feet, creating a large tremour that caused the other man to stumble and grab on to the railings. He turned and grinned at Anna, but quickly noticed the robots marching towards them. "If you think about it, the particles activated in Donna – maybe Anna – and drew her inside my spaceship, so reverse it…" He pulled out the jar of clear substance and twisted the knob. "… the spaceship comes to her!"

The TARDIS materialised around them just in time to block the shots fired by the robots.

The Doctor jumped to the controls and began to pull random levers and push several buttons. "Off we go!"

Anna walked over beside him and gingerly touched the gold console. It felt warm and the panels glowed where her hand skimmed by. "I missed you, too," she whispered.

The Doctor watched her fondly as she reacquainted herself with the TARDIS.

Donna observed the scene curiously. She knew that Anna loved Keegan, but seeing her and the Doctor together, she wondered if Anna was making the right choice. Keegan was nice _and_ rich, but Donna had never seen Anna look so serene. This was her home.

"Oh, you know what I said before about time machines?" The Doctor grinned over at Donna. "Well, I lied and now, we're gonna use it." The TARDIS gave an abrupt jerk as he pulled a lever. "We need to find out what the Empress of the Racnoss is digging up. If something's buried at the planet core, it must've been there since the beginning. That's just brilliant. Molto bene! I've always wanted to see this. Donna, Anna, we're going further back than I've ever been before."

* * *

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE_

Happy New Year! The Doctor's here!

This episode was a bit long with all the added pieces, so I ended up splitting it in half. I'm still trying to figure out the Anna/Doctor dynamic myself.

Thank you **GrumpyCatWriter101** and **Wolf and Leopard** for reviewing.

 **GrumpyCatWriter101** : Good to put a name behind the other name :P I promise more Anna/Doctor to come!

 **Wolf and Leopard** : It's definitely going to be a rollercoaster ride. Thanks for the review and compliment!

Thank you as well to everyone who has favourited and followed this story.

I'd love to hear from all of you.

Happy Holidays

Stay safe.


	4. The Thames

**CHAPTER 4: THE THAMES**

It was obvious that Donna wasn't feeling the same excitement as she was. The adrenaline and anticipation was exhilarating, but for the former bride, it was only a day of heart break and betray. Anna sat beside Donna and comfortingly rubbed her back. She made eye contact with the Doctor who was looking at them curiously.

"We've arrived," he began, slowly. "Want to see?"

Donna sniffed and sluggishly stood up. "I s'pose…"

The Doctor grinned and turned the monitor towards her. "Oh, that scanner's a bit small. Maybe your way's best." He made an excited face at Anna before walking over to the door. "Come on."

Donna sighed and made her way over to him.

"Stop thinking about him, Donna," Anna told her. "There's so, so much more to see and experience and be happy!"

"All I want to see is my bed," Donna moaned.

The Doctor ignored her. "Donna Noble, welcome to the creation of the Earth." He swung the door open, revealing an amazing sight. "We've gone back four point six billion years. There's no solar system, not yet. Only dust and rocks and gas." He pointed into the distance. "That's the Sun over there – brand new. Just beginning to burn."

"Where's the Earth?" Donna looked skeptically into the vacuum.

"All around us. In the dust." The Doctor squinted, scrutinizing every rock. "But the question is… What was that first rock?"

Soon, one of the larger objects was starting to pull smaller rocks around it.

"The Racnoss…" the Doctor whispered in realisation. He quickly ran to the console and began to crank the wheel. "Hold on… the Racnoss are hiding from the war! What's it doing?"

Anna shook her head and smiled. "Hiding from the war?"

He grinned back at her before racing towards the door, again. "Oh, they didn't just bury something at the centre of the Earth… they _became_ the centre of the Earth. – the first rock."

Suddenly, the TARDIS began to violently shake.

Anna looked at the Doctor in alarm. What was happening?

Beside her, Donna was beginning to panic, again. "What was that?!"

"Trouble," the Doctor grimly replied, while quickly slamming the door shut. "Remember that little trick I pulled? Particles pulling particles. It works in reverse! They're pulling us back!" As hard as he tried, he couldn't gain control of the TARDIS.

Donna glared at the Doctor. "Well, can't you stop it? Hasn't it got a handbrake? Can't you reverse or warp or beam or something?!"

"Oi! Backseat driver! Oh, wait a minute!" The Doctor grinned as he pulled something from beneath the console. "The extrapolator! Can't stop us, but it should give us a good bump!"

Anna winced as the Doctor began to viciously whack on the extrapolator. "Now!"

When they finally landed, the three of them ran out of the TARDIS and down a blue-lit tunnel. Following the Doctor's lead, they arrived in front of the Thames Floor Barrier.

Anna looked at him expectantly. What was he planning to do? Did he want to flood the entire basement?

"Come on! Trust me, I've got a history." He took out a stethoscope and placed the end on the door.

"But I still don't understand." Donna frowned. "I'm full of particles, but what for?"

Without looking at her, the Doctor replied, "There's a Racnoss web at the centre of the Earth, but my people unravelled their power source. The Huon particles ceased to exist, but the Racnoss are stuck."

Suddenly, as the Doctor continued on with his explanation, something captured Donna and began to drag her away. Anna was about to alert the Doctor, but a second one appeared and whisked her down the corridor. No matter how much she struggled against the robot, she couldn't get lose. She tried to summon up the energy from within her, but just as quick as her hand lit up a light blue colour, It was consumed by gold and finally disappeared without doing anything.

She growled in frustration. Useless!

Finally, when they stopped, they were back in the large chamber with the Empress of the Racnoss. The giant arachnid grinned at them.

Within minutes, both Donna and Anna were ensnared by layers of webs beside Lance.

"I hate you." Donna glared spitefully at Lance who rolled his eyes and glared back at her.

"Yeah, I think you've gone a bit beyond that now, sweetheart," he replied.

Sulkily, Anna decided to put in her own two pence. "For the record, I hate you, too."

He ignored her.

"My golden couple. Together at last – your awful wedded life. Tell me, do you want to be released?"

"Yes!" Donna and Lance exclaimed in unison.

The Racnoss tutted mockingly at them. "You're supposed to say _"_ I do"."

Lance scoffed at the mere notion. "No chance."

"Say it!"

Hesitantly, Lance looked at Donna who looked back at him with an equally fearful expression.

"I do."

"I do."

Cackling evilly, she said, "I don't. " The Empress turned to the robots. "Activate the particles. Purge every last one!"

Anna looked at her feet nervously. It was much softer than both Donna and Lance, but she, too, was glowing. When was the Doctor going to arrive? "Please, hurry, Doctor," she whispered.

"My children, the long lost Racnoss. Now will be born to feast on flesh!" They could hear the echoes of the young Racnoss moving about in the hold. "The web-star shall come to me!" She continued to cackle happily. "My babies will be hungry. They need sustenance. Perish the web!"

If Anna wasn't panicking before, she was most definitely panicking now.

Like the coward that he was, Lance began to loudly protest. "Use them! Not me! Use them!"

The Empress only mocked him. "Oh, my funny little Lance! By you are quite impolite to your lady friend. The Empress does not approve."

The web that held Lance up loosened until he tumbled into the hole. They could hear him screaming in pain and horror as he was consumed by the baby Racnoss.

Anna could feel Donna trembling beside her and she knew she was doing the same. What was taking him so long? She knew he would never abandon them, but… WHAT WAS TAKING HIM SO LONG?!

"My children are climbing towards me and none shall stop them!" the Empress announced, triumphantly, before hissing at the solitary robot that was ascending the stairs. "So you might as well unmask, my cleaver little doctor-man."

Without hesitation, the robot removed the mask and cloak. "Oh well, nice try. I've got you, guys… girls!" He took out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it at Donna.

The redhead began to scream. "I'm gonna fall!"

"You're gonna swing!" the Doctor shouted back at her.

As Donna fell, the tendrils still clinging on to her caused her to swing like a pendulum towards the Doctor.

The Doctor spread his legs out and stretched his arms. "I've got ya!"

Anna grimaced as she realised that at that height, she would never read the Doctor.

 _Bang!_

The redhead slammed into the wall underneath the Doctor and fell the short way down to the cold cement floor.

Looking nervously at Donna, the Doctor sheepishly apologised.

"Thanks. For _nothing_." Donna glared at Time Lord who focused his attention on the other captive.

"Please do not miss, Doctor," Anna pleaded him.

He was quick to give her reassuring words, but with how Donna ended up, she really wasn't sure if she could trust him on this.

As the web began to loosen, Anna could feel her heart rate quicken up. When she began to fall, she couldn't help closing her eyes and suppressing the scream that burst out from her lips. "Oof!" She only opened her eyes when she hit something soft and warm.

"Told ya, I'd catch ya!" He grinned happily at her.

She let out a sigh of relief and went limp in his arms.

"Of course the Martian would catch his girlfriend!" Donna huffed.

The Doctor didn't contradict her. Instead, he placed Anna on to her feet and turned to the Racnoss. "Empress of the Racnoss, I give you one last chance. I can find you a planet. I can find you a place in the universe to co-exist. Take that offer and end this now."

The Empress laughed at him. "These men are so funny."

"What's your answer?"

Anna shuddered as she heard the dark fury in the Doctor's voice. It wasn't often when he was like this, but when he was, run. This was the man who had gained the name of The Oncoming Storm.

"Oh, I'm afraid I have to decline." The Racnoss laughed at him.

"What happens next is your own doing."

"Doctor…" Anna wanted to reason with him, but another part of her was almost… scared. What was he planning on doing?

"I'll show you what happens next," the Racnoss hissed back at him before turning to her robot soldiers. "At arms!" The robots obeyed. "Take aim, and – "

"Relax." One simple word – soft and commanding – and the robots were useless.

"What did you do?" The redhead gaped at him.

He spoke without looking at her. "Guess what I've got, Donna?" He retrieved a black remote control from his left pockets and waved the device at her. "Pockets."

"How did that fit in there?" The incredulity in her voice was unmistakable.

As if it was obvious for everyone, the Doctor stated, "They're bigger on the inside."

"Robo-forms are not necessary!" the Racnoss cut them off. "My children may feast on Martian flesh."

Anna snorted. Mars? Why does everyone think he's from _Mars_? Instead of seeing the comedy of it, she noticed that the dark look on the Doctor's face was truly scaring her now.

"Oh, but I'm not from Mars."

Finally seeing the severity of the situation, the Racnoss' confidence slowly deflated. "Then where?"

"My home planet is far away and long-since gone, but its name lives on – Gallifrey."

Anger immediately took over the uncertainty. "They murdered the Racnoss!"

"I warned you. You did this." He took out some Christmas baubles from his pocket.

The Empress immediately knew what he was going to do. "No! No, don't! No!"

Ignoring her, the Doctor threw them into the air. He took the remote control and began to control the baubles. Several moved through the corridor where they had found the Thames Flood Barrier. As they made contact with the walls, they exploded, taking the entire door down.. The water rushed in, smashing into the pillars and began to poured into the hole that led to the centre of the Earth.

"My children!" the Empress screamed.

He was not done. The remaining baubles circled the Racnoss and he detonated them around her. A fire broke out as the Empress continued to scream in agony – both from the pain of the fire and the pain of losing her children.

Without an ounce of remorse, the Doctor stared at the scene in front of him.

"No! My children! My children!"

Anna watched in horror as the fire and water soared around her. "Doctor…"

"Doctor! You can stop now!" Donna shouted at him. She, too, was frightened to see how the Doctor changed. What happened to the mad man he had come to know in the short time they were together?

Anna wasn't sure what was causing the Doctor to be like this, but he needed to snap out of it. "Doctor, please." She tugged at his sleeve and looked at him.

He turned his dark eyes at her and they softened as he saw how this was affecting her. He grasped her hand in his. "Come on! Time I got you guys out!"

They ran up the stairs, completely drenched from the water and when they were finally outside, Donna asked, "But what about the Empress?"

"She's used up all her Huon energy – she's defenseless."

Just as he finished speaking, an explosion shook the night. They saw burning pieces of the Racnoss' starred-spaceship become only dust blowing in the soft breeze.

As the Doctor and Donna cheered happily, Anna smiled at them. Even though she was sad that the Racnoss are now extinct, their way of living was far too dangerous for the other species. If there had been another way, she was sure the Doctor would've taken that route instead.

"Just…. There's one problem," Donna said.

They looked at her. "What's that?" the Doctor asked curiously.

"We've drained the Thames!"

This time, even Anna couldn't help but laugh with them.

D*O*C*T*O*R W*H*O

As the Doctor landed the TARDIS in front of Donna's modest house, Anna was starting to feel nervous. It was almost over. She was going to lose the Doctor forever. This was her last adventure together and it had finally come to an end.

"There we go," the Doctor said as they stood outside the TARDIS. "Told you she'd be all right. She can survive anything."

"More than I've done," Donna said.

The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver and scanned both Donna and Anna. "Nope! All the Huon particles have gone. No damage. You're fine." He gave Anna a double scan and looked at the analysis curiously before putting away the screwdriver.

"Yeah, but apart from that, I missed my wedding, lost my job, and became a widow on the same day… Sort of."

"I couldn't save him," the Doctor said, remorsefully.

"And you'll be fine, Donna," Anna tried to comfort her redheaded friend. "If you need any help, you know Keegan and I are there for you."

Donna laughed. "Thanks, Anna." She inched closer to her friend as she caught sight of the Doctor's frown when the blonde mentioned Keegan. She nudged Anna while trying to inconspicuously tell her something by gesturing to the Doctor. Anna playfully pushed her away.

"Alright, I'd better get inside," Donna said, looking at the house. "They'll be worried."

"Best Christmas present they could have," the Doctor said as they her parents embrace through the window. "Oh, no. I forgot. You hate Christmas."

Donna told him seriously. "Yes, I do."

"Even if it snows?" The Doctor ran inside the TARDIS and pulled a lever. A beam of light from the TARDIS shot upward into the sky, creating snow clouds. Soft, white flakes began to fall around them.

"I can't believe you did that!" Donna exclaim.

Anna looked around them in wonder. It was beautiful. Even she didn't know the TARDIS could do that.

"Oh, basic atmospheric excitation." The Doctor casually said as he walked back out.

Donna smiled at him. "Merry Christmas."

"Oh!" Anna suddenly exclaimed. "It's Christmas! I forgot to give you your present! I should go get it, now!" She turned to the Doctor. "Can I use the TARDIS to go home?"

The Doctor tried to hide the hurt on his face. There was a time when she called the TARDIS her home. There was a time when she didn't need to go anywhere to get anything because it'd all be in the TARDIS. "Ya, but wait for me. Go in, I'll take you there in a bit."

Anna nodded and disappeared through the doors.

When he turned back to Donna, he saw her smirking at him.

"So?"

"So, what?" He frowned at her.

"You like her!" Donna exclaimed.

"She's getting married," the Doctor replied, looking away.

"Not yet! They haven't even set a date, yet." Donna looked the Doctor in the eye. "She's my best friend. If you hurt her in _any_ way, I'm going to kill you. You know that, right, spaceman?"

The Doctor didn't answer her.

"You need someone like her," Donna continued.

The Doctor smiled sadly at her. "I've had my chance. Maybe you'd like to come with me, instead?"

"No." Donna smiled back at him. "I can't…"

"No, that's fine." The Doctor put on a brave front, but the both of them knew that he really wanted a companion with him.

"I guess… I better get inside and… remember to bring Anna back! She has my present!"

The Doctor smiled at her and nodded. "I'll be back." Just as he entered the TARDIS, he heard Donna speak to him, again. "Oh, what is it, now?" he asked in mock exasperation as he peeked back out.

"That friend of yours… what was her name?"

The Doctor swallowed hard. "Her name was Rose."

D*O*C*T*O*R W*H*O

Anna skipped out of the TARDIS in a much lighter mood. There was little regret. While in the TARDIS, the Doctor had promised to come back after she lived her time with Keegan.

"Keegan?" She peeked into the living room, expecting to see her fiancés waiting for her, but he was nowhere to be seen. "Keegan? I am home." She frowned. Where was he?

As she slowly walked up the stairs, a sinking feeling grew in her stomach. She let out a breath of air to keep the nausea down. "Keegan, where are you? This is not funny… I am sorry that I left you like that. I promise the next fifty years will be as normal as… as… the most normal thing." The Doctor was such a bad influence…

" _You don't think I'd actually let you get married, did you?"_ It was _his_ voice.

She looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of the owner of the voice.

"Keegan? Keegan!" Anna was now in a state of panic as she ran down the dim corridor. "Keegan!" She looked into every room. Nothing. Where was he? _Where was he?_

Anna sat on their bed with her head in her hands.

" _Have you thought of taking a bath, yet?_ " the voice teased. " _A looooong bath_."

Her heart dropped as she looked at the closed door directly in front of her. "Keegan?" she whispered, slowly walking towards the bathroom. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest and her head was buzzing uncomfortably.

Her hand twisted the door knob. Time seemed to be moving incredibly slowly. When she flung the door opened, she saw that the shower curtain was drawn closed. There was a silhouette peeking from the top. "Keegan?!"

With shaky hands, she slid it across the pole and breathed a sigh of relief when all she saw was a beach ball floating in the water. She calmed down her breathing and rested her head on the cold metal rim of the frame. After a few more seconds, she turned to leave.

Suddenly, she heard a loud crack from the sky light before shards of glass rained down on her. A body was dangling inches from her face. She screamed and screamed. What she saw wasn't processing in her head. The face that she had come to know so well was nearly split in two by a deep gash through the middle. Blood splattered on to her face. His eyes were still darting left and right before settling on her. He was still alive… Oh, God. He was still alive!

 _"I kept him fresh for you_."

She felt her world tip sideways before a burst of pain erupted from her head and she blacked out.

D*O*C*T*O*R W*H*O

When Anna finally woke up, there was a man by her side, shaking her. "Can you hear me?" Groggily, she nodded her head. A bright beam of light hit her eyes. She tried to push him away. "It's going to be alright. Your friend is coming."

Seconds later, Jack was holding her. "Hey, angel. How ya feeling?"

She wasn't sure how she was feeling. Confused, maybe. "What happened?" She was in her bed, but she didn't feel well rested as she usually did and why were the two paramedics in the house? "I need to go to the toilet," she mumbled, trying to get off the bed, but Jack pushed her back down. "Jack!"

"You can go, later." He had a serious look on his face – one that she had never seen before.

"Where's Keegan?" Why wasn't he here with her?

"Wait here. Don't move." He tucked her back into bed. "I'm going to find Ianto and get you a _big_ cup of coffee." H e was gone before she could protest.

She sighed at Jack's antics before getting out of bed. Instead of being in Keegan's room as she first thought, she was in a smaller guest room that was on the other side of the manor. How did she get here? Why didn't she remember anything?

She pushed the door open to the nearest bathroom and froze as a memory hit her.

So much blood.

There was so much blood and his _eyes._ _He was still alive!_

 _I kept him fresh for you._

She screamed and dropped to the cold tiled floor, clutching her head. Heavy footsteps immediately travelled toward her. "Keegan… Keegan… Keegan…"

When Jack burst in with Ianto behind him, he found the platinum blonde rocking back and forth in a fetal position. Her eyes were wide and unseeing and she chanted one name repeatedly.

"Anna." He knelt beside her and gathered her into his arms.

D*O*C*T*O*R W*H*O

The next few days passed by like a blur. Jack and Ianto stayed with Anna in the manor because she had refused to leave. The funeral was today and many of Keegan's friends and business partners had arrived with condolences.

Anna nodded dutifully at everyone who approached her. Jack stood beside her like a bodyguard. Every once in a while, she could vaguely hear him cursing the Doctor. It made her heart ache every time and guilt doubled inside her. Whoever was after her had killed Keegan. It was _her_ fault that he was dead and not only that, she still longed for the Doctor. It would've been so much better if Keegan never met her.

She rotated the engagement ring on her finger.

After the formalities, Anna hid away from the pitying eyes. Sobs racked her body as she thought about how quickly he had been taken for her.

He was supposed to have another fifty years!

" _What a pity…"_

Anna growled. "What do you want with me?!" She spun around trying to catch a glimpse of the bastard. "Why did you kill him? Why are you doing this to me?!" Her entire body was shaking with fury.

" _Because you're mine_ ," the voice missed. " _Every part of you is mine. If you dare let anyone take you, I will kill them. Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine._ "

"Anna!" she heard Jack call out. "Where'd you go?" She could detect the worry in his voice.

Overpowering the sound of Jack were loud wheezing sirens.

"I'm so sorry, Jack," she whispered before retrieving her lipstick and left a quick note on the table. "I'm not going to let you control me, you bastard!" She gave the room one last glance and climbed out the window, running towards the imposing noise.

D*O*C*T*O*R W*H*O

The Doctor had promised to pick up Anna after Keegan passed on, but that didn't mean he was going to wait those year through. Nope! He was going to take the shortcut.

He typed in Keegan's name and waited for the interphase to do all the work. When the screen showed a photo of the man, he froze. "Oh, I'm so, so sorry…" He changed the location of the TARDIS and spied on her. She was in her room, sobbing. His hearts ached for her loss. He didn't like Keegan, but that man made her happy. He would wait until after the funeral to get her.

He walked back into the TARDIS and changed the date. Three days, maybe? HE shrugged and pulled the lever. The TARDIS wheezed loudly. "Come on, Sexy. We're gonna get our angel back."

He grinned and walked out of the TARDIS. "Oof!" A warm object – object? – collided into him. He looked down and saw a head of silvery blonde hair. "Anna?" He blinked.

"Take me away." Her voice was muffled by his clothes.

"Okay." He ushered her in and closed the door.

No matter what that circumstance was, he was glad that she was back. He refused to lose her, again.

* * *

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE_

Poor Keegan… I feel bad for what I did to him. I also feel bad that Anna had to find him. There's a tinge of regret that I decided to kill him off because I did have another idea that revolved around him before. In fact, I had quite a few plans for him that seemed to have fallen through.

I hope none of you had gotten too attached to him.

On a happier note, she's back travelling with the Doctor, again!

Thank you **GrumpyCatWriter101, grapejuice101, and TwoHeartedMarauder** for reviewing!

Thank you as well to everyone who has favourited and followed this story.

I always love to hear from you. It greatly improves my mood every time I see the notification and read what you have to say. A short little message could go a long way.


	5. The Breakdown

**CHAPTER FIVE: THE BREAKDOWN**

He set the TARDIS to remain in the vortex for the next few days and spent most of his time tinkering uselessly under the console. Not only was he giving time for Anna to mourn and grieve, he was also trying to sort out his own thoughts and feelings.

Separating from her had been much harder than he thought and within hours, he had caved in. When he brought Donna back to Chiswick, his heart leapt and he had hoped that that was the chance for him to see her, again. Unfortunately, when he was reunited with her, she was _engaged!_

He raked a hand through his hair. There was no point in lying about his feelings when he saw them together. He was upset that she had moved on while he was... was... _pining_ for her! It drove him insane. Would _he_ be able to move on in seven years? At the time, he didn't think so and he didn't like that. What had she done to him?

Not once was he not upset about losing a companion, but he never had such a strong urge to go back to retrieve them. It was like this constant dread weighing him down. He had no desire to travel. He had no desire to move. He had no desire to do _anything_.

Having her here now, despite everything that had happened, brought an immediate sense of relief inside him. He knew where she was. He just didn't know what to do, yet.

Several times a day, he found himself standing in front of her door wondering if he should go in to comfort her, but each visit was followed by a hasty retreat.

 _Stupid. Stupid. Stupid..._

He raised his mallet to hit the little, shiny metal thing, but was promptly shocked by a wire that had become loose right at that point. "Oi!" he exclaimed. He huffed and banged on the metal thingy spitefully.

"With how much you bully her, I'm surprised that she hasn't kicked you out, yet."

He jerked up and banged his head. "Ow..." Slowly, he wheeled out, rubbing his forehead. He looked up at his female companion, expecting to see her face. Instead, he was looking up at something that confused him for a moment before feeling his face flush red. "Hello, red! I-I mean... Hello, Anna!"

The Seraphixian looked at him confused until realisation hit her. She flushed and pulled her dress tight against her legs. Doctor!"

"S-Sorry." He jumped to his feet and brushed off his suit awkwardly. "How are you?" He regretted his words as soon as they left his mouth.

Anna looked down mournfully at her feet. "I'm feeling better," she whispered. "Thanks for allowing me to stay here."

He frowned. He didn't want her to feel like she was a _guest_ here. He wanted her to feel like this was her... home. She was comfortable here before. How could seven measly years change everything? Maybe she'll return back to normal after staying in the TARDIS for a few more days.

"Can we go somewhere?" She looked expectantly at him.

"Yeah.." he replied slowly. "Yeah! Let's go!" He bounced bout the console with his mallet in hand. "Where do you want to go? Apalapachia?, Ancient Rome, Caulana, Planet of Coffee – okay not that one for you, Vanchi-"

"Anywhere!" Anna replied, a small smile on her face.

He beamed at her and spun the two wheels rapidly. "Anywhere it is!"

D*O*C*T*O*R W*H*O

They stumbled in laughing with globs of thick purple goop on them. "D-did you see the look on his face?" They only laughed harder until Anna stumbled against the Doctor and they both lost their balance. Lying on the hard metal grating, they were still chortling until they finally stopped and realized how close they were to each other.

"I miss this..." Anna whispered, placing her head on his chest. Da. Da. Da. Dum... "I missed you..." Da. Da. Da. Dum. "Don't leave me, again."

His arms wrapped around her. She could hear his heartbeat quicken. "I won't. I swear. Never again."

D*O*C*T*O*R W*H*O

"Sleep or adventure?"

"Adventure!"

They tumbled into the TARDIS with leaves sticking out of their hair.

The Doctor ran to the console and turned back to look at her. "Sleep or adventure?"

"Adventure!"

They fell to the TARDIS floor laughing.

"Sleep or adventure?"

"Adventure!"

"Sleep or adventure!"

"Sleep! Sleep! No more!" Anna was about to collapse from exhaustion. When was the last time she slept?

A cup of hot drink was thrust into her hands.

"Sleep or adventure?

"Adventure!"

The next time they entered the TARDIS, the Doctor was carrying the sleeping girl in his arms. He knew that he must've burnt her out. Was it the best idea? Probably not, but he wasn't sure how to cheer her up. This was why he didn't stay with one companion for too long. He, himself, couldn't deal with death. How could he possibly help _someone else_ cope? So he did the only thing he knew how to do. Run.

He helped her run away from her problems.

The TARDIS let out a loud wheezing sound.

"Oh, shut up!" he huffed. "I know it's wrong! Leave me alone!"

The TARDIS' console exploded with orange sparks before the lights went out.

"And Anna thinks _I_ bully _you_ ,' he scoffed into the darkness. "You never show _this_ side of yourself whenever anyone else is around. No one understands me!" He attempted to storm up the stairs, but his right foot caught the bottom of the third step and he nearly tumbled backwards with the platinum blonde still in his arms. He grumbled sulkily and made the rest of his way up with much trouble before finding Anna's room and gently tucked her into bed.

Not long after he released her, she began to thrash around. "No..." she whispered before she screamed loudly.

The Doctor rushed back to her. A look of helplessness was evident on his face. What should he do? He paced around several times with numerous thoughts flew by his head, but none really making its mark. Finally, he stomped over and slipped into bed to cradle her like a young child. He rocked their bodies back and forth. It seemed futile at first, but soon, she quieted down and latched tightly on to his arm.

He contemplated whether to leave now and whether his departure would throw her back into a fitful state. While pondering, the sound of her rhythmic breathing lulled him into a light slumber.

D*O*C*T*O*R W*H*O

 _I will kill him_...

Anna jolt upright. She could feel a bead f sweat drip from her hairline. His voice haunted her. Whenever she closed her eyes, she could sense his presence just beyond the crevices of her mind. Was she going crazy?

Suddenly, she felt something shift beside her and she nearly fell off the bed in shock. She looked at the moving form. "Doctor?"

He was sleeping soundly with one arm dangling off the bed.

 _I will kill him..._

She shuddered as she remembered his words. What if he really went after the Doctor? Losing Keegan made her wonder if she should distance herself from any romantic relationship. Perhaps the jaded Time Lord had the right idea all along. She wasn't sure if she could handle losing someone else so close to her heart, again. "Doctor?" She gently shook his shoulder, but he only rolled over on to his side with a snore. A soft laugh left his lips. "Doctor, wake up." She shook him, again.

He groaned and opened one eye to look at her. There was a dazed look in his eyes at first, but as the brown orbs cleared up, his eyes widened and he fell off the bed with a startled yelp. "Anna?"

She peeked over the bed and grinned at him. "Good morning, Doctor!"

With the mussed up hair and wide chocolate brown eyes looking at her, how could she possible find it in herself to let him go? She's just have to work hard to keep him safe. She'd do anything – _anything –_ for him.

He continued to look at her before a serious expression crossed his face. "Anna."

She blinked at him in confusion. "Doctor."

"How long have you been having nightmares?"

She paled. How did he know? "I-I do not know what you mean, Doctor."

His eyes darkened. He climbed back on to the bed and moved until he was only inches from her face. "I've gotten you figured out, Anna." An almost feral triumphant look appeared. "Whenever you lie or become uncomfortable, your speech switches to that formal talk."

Anna could feel her face begin to burn. "I d-do not..." She swallowed nervously. "I _don't_ know what you mean."

The Doctor could feel his patience growing thin. "Those nightmares. How long have you been having them?"

Anna looked down at her hands. "It had been coming in and out, but after... after Keegan..." She took in a gulp of air. "It has been every night. He's always in my head." She finished with a whisper.

"Keegan?"

She shook her head fervently. "No. I do not know who he is, but he was the one who killed Keegan. He rarely visits me whenever I'm in the TARDIS, but lately..."

The Doctor frowned. "It must be because of your weakened mental defences." He placed his hands on her temples. "Do you trust me?"

"With no doubt in my mind," she softly replied.

He smiled back at her. "Close your eyes. I'm going to look through your mind. Anything you don't want me to see, imagine a door in front of it."

She took in a deep breath and breathed out. "I'm ready."

He gently placed his forehead on hers – not something necessary, but it was a much more comfortable position. And he was feeling very comfortable, right now.

Slowly, he pushed himself into her mind. Once settled, he walked down the corridors of her mind. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary at first, but with closer examination, he noticed a colony of shadows lurking around the corners of her mind.

As he continued on, he felt another force in her mind. It was dreadfully familiar. Even here, he could see faded, gold pulses. Why didn't she tell him? He felt the guilt nearly consume him. He had left her dying, abandoned and alone – no, not alone. She had _Keegan_. The guilt was momentarily overwhelmed by a flare of deep hatred for the man he didn't know. Quickly shaking both emotions away, he realised that that closer he got to the vortex energy, the less shadow could be seen. Was it possible that the energy was somehow burning away the darkness? What would happen when the energy disappears? Would the darkness completely take over her mind?

He growled in frustration. Did that mean that Anna would die whether they get rid of the energy or not? What w as the point in finally finding someone who could stay with him forever if everything else was determined to take her away from him?

With a burst of anger, he stomped furiously at the shadows. To his amazement, the shadow seemed to burn off where his foot landed. He slowly lifted one leg and settled his foot on top of a layer of darkness.

"Ah ha!" A triumphant grin appeared on his face.

He felt Anna physically jump at his verbal exclamation. "Sorry," he apologised sheepishly. "Give me a sec." And he went about like the madman that he was, stomping and running around every corner of her mind.

"Doctor, what are you doing?" she muttered. "It's as if you're having a party in my head."

"Sorry!"

He didn't sound sorry... at all.

Once the Doctor finally decided to break the bridge between their minds, he opened his eyes to see Anna looking curiously at him. "Hi."

"Hello, Doctor," she murmured back at him. "So what's the diagnosis?"

"Mm... you're perfectly fine."

She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Alright, you're possibly dying."

"Well, I already know tha-"

"Whether we manage to take out the vortex energy or not."

She paled. "W-What do you mean? Is it because of... _him_?"

"Most likely," he replied. "I think I've gotten rid of what I can for now, but it's not a permanent solution." He could already feel it growing like a tumour before he left. "We'll get through this." He rubbed his forehead on hers.

She smiled back at him. "Okay."

D*O*C*T*O*R W*H*O

Anna noticed that after that day, the Doctor was more attentive to her. On the one hand, she thought it was absolutely endearing, but on the other, she didn't want to be coddled. She wasn't going to break like glass and she wasn't going to drop dead... yet.

His attention, however, did help her slowly heal. The Doctor must have realised that overloading her with adventures was less than helpful, so he had a routine down – something that she knew must've been killing him to do. They had a full day of exploring a planet, then half a day of rest. The second half of the day, the Doctor would monitor the process of the Shadows – as they had deemed it. It was cliché, but appropriate. It was also because making up a name with the Doctor was one of the most confusing experiences she ever had. She could not pronounce the majority of the names. When she tried, it only gave her a headache, so grudgingly, the Doctor relented to a menial name.

She laughed at his pouty expression and walked away, leaving him to tamper sulkily with the console, as he usually did when they were on their day off.

Not long after Anna settled in her bed to lavish in her leisure day, there was a loud bang that resonated through the entire TARDIS. She bolted up and looked around her in alarm. What happened?

"I'm okay!" she heard the Doctor yell.

What was he _doing_?

She got off her bed and made her way to the mad man. When she arrived into the control room, she stared blankly at the scene in front of her. _What happened?!_

D*O*C*T*O*R W*H*O

The Doctor had just lost an argument... They were going to call the shadows... _The Shadows_. Why didn't they opt for something cool like Wixilan or Chitaela? No, no. He hadn't lost the argument. He refused to believe that he had lost the argument. In fact, he was certain that he hadn't lost the argument. No, they just decided to refer to the shadows by different names. Yes.

He whacked at the console absentmindedly. _Whack. Whack. Whack._ Maybe he could still convince her to change the name. _Whack. Whack._ But maybe this is not the right time. He didn't want to make her angry... _Whack._ But he _really_ didn't like the name. Gaah! _Whack. Whack. Whack. Whack._

 _BOOM!_

"Doctor?!"

He groaned from his position on the rough, grated floor and looked up to see Anna looking back down at him with concern. "Hiii, Anna!" he slurred before his head hit the floor, again.

"Doctor!" She kneeled beside him and held his head up. "Are you alright?" He waved his arms in small and wide circles – none of which made any sense to her. "What happened?"

In took him a moment, but eventually, the Doctor found his bearing and sat up. "Ask her!"

Anna stared blankly at him.

"Her!" He pointed at the console. "She _electrocuted_ me!"

His sulky expression and frazzled appearance made it impossible for her to suppress the laughter that was bubbling out of her.

His frown deepened. Why was she laughing at him? If he had tried to electrocute the TARDIS, she'd probably say that he was _bullying_ her, again. The injustice! The discrimination! The _sexism!_ He huffed. "Not _that_ funny..."

After Anna reined in her laughter, she smiled and him. "It's alright, Doctor. I understand."

He narrowed his eyes at her condescending tone.

Her smile widened. If he had been a young child, she would have patted his head. It was so fun to tease him. "Should we start cleaning the TARDIS?"

He jumped to his feet and brushed off his suit. His hand ran through his hair several times. And with that, he looked as neat and tidy as he would ever be, which really didn't count for much. "Nah!" He took her hand and lead her back into the corridor. "She made the mess; she can clean herself up! Besides, she'll be much faster anyway."

Anna wondered if the TARDIS could really speak, what she'd be saying right now. But true to the Doctor's words, when they next entered the console room, but it was back to its perfect state.

"If the TARDIS could clean and fix herself, why do you always try to 'fix' her?"

He waved his hand dismissively and walked over to the console. "Where do ya wanna go?"

Much time had passed since Keegan died and she knew how hard the Doctor worked to try to get her out of her grieving. True, it hadn't been too effective and he might have tried to use an easy way out by overloading her with excitement, but due to his lack of knowledge, she'd let it pass.

She grinned at him. "Anywhere!"

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE_

For the first time, I used a name generator for two alien names the Doctor wanted to call _The Shadows_. I used " " for the alien name generator. I thought it was something insignificant, so it wouldn't matter what I really called them and… To be honest, just minutes before I posted this, I realised that I still had the words highlighted as (coolalienname_1) and (coolalienname_2). Soooo… Yeah… I swear I'm not running out of ideas, yet!

Also, I hope you guys don't mind a few original adventures. I will get back to the canon plot, soon with Martha. _Soon_. At the moment, I'm just pulling ideas literally out of a box. I've accumulated a few from university, just random words and concepts that professors say and I write it down on a slip of paper for future uses. I also have a few "current events" that may not be as current anymore because of when I end up pulling them out. These are usually ones that hit me hard or completely baffles me.

Now, I'd like to thank **NicoleR85, xxDreamWalkerxx** , and guests ( **Guest, HeavyAway** ) for reviewing!

 **HeavyAway** : I'm so glad you're enjoying this story! It's always great to see new readers!

Thank you as well to everyone who has favourited and followed this story!


	6. The Chase

**CHAPTER SIX: THE CHASE**

"London? Really?" After countless adventures on dozens of different planets, it was odd being in good ol' London, again. Everything was so much calmer and quieter and…

She tilted her head and looked around. It was very, very calm and perhaps far too quiet. Where _was_ everyone? It was the middle of the day. Why were there no kids playing football in their yards and no cars moving about?

The Doctor walked off ahead, scanning everything with his sonic screwdriver. He had a contemplative look on his face that made Anna feel slightly unnerved. Maybe it's not just good ol' London. Maybe something was very wrong.

"Doctor?" She hurried off to catch up with him, looking around as she did so. "Where _is_ everyone?" The street was empty and no one peeked out from the windows. It reminded her of the time they had met Chloe before the 2012 London Olympics.

"We're going." The Doctor turned around and walked briskly back to the TARDIS.

Still confused, Anna followed obediently behind him. She knew something was not right from his tone of voice. He rarely sounded this serious. "What's wrong?"

Before she could receive a reply, the TARDIS disappeared right in front of their eyes. "No!" The Doctor ran to where the TARDIS had previously been parked. It wasn't like a puff of smoke or trap door. It was there one moment and the next, it was simply gone. Next to follow was their surroundings. The deserted London street was replaced by a dark forest.

Day had turned into night and tall trees loomed over them. There were no openings and not a sign of life to be seen.

Anna instinctively moved closer to the Doctor. She had a sinking feeling that this adventure was one that she wouldn't mind missing. "Where are we?" she whispered. It was too dark to see anything, at all.

The Doctor was scanning the area, again. He put away the sonic screwdriver without explaining anything. "Come on."

Anna frowned. What was he hiding from her? Instead of asking and getting whatever lie that happened to grace the Doctor's head at the moment, she ask, "Where are we going?"

"To look for the TARDIS." The serious tone in his voice made her shudder. It wasn't going to be fun and games, today.

From the corner of her eye, she spotted something that wasn't there before, but when she turned to give it a proper look, it was gone. With a gentle tug at her hang from the Doctor, she began to walk. The entire time, she could feel someone watching them. Every once in a while, she'd find the same shadow lying just slightly beyond reach.

They wandered past a rusty red pickup truck. It looked to be abandoned. "Can we take the car and go?"

The Doctor shook his head and tugged her along. He didn't seem to want to stop moving. He must've sensed that someone or something was lurking in the shadows, as well.

Their brisk pace quickly became a sprint. The thing continued to draw closer and closer.

Anna rotated her shoulder and frowned. She couldn't seem to release her wings. The entrapped appendages were writhing painfully underneath her skin. She let out a shuddered breath of pain, which didn't go unnoticed by the Doctor who gave her a concerned look.

Eventually, they found a small shed and hid inside. There was a small shovel beside Anna who quickly snatched it into her hands. "I'm scared," she whispered.

He didn't reply immediately, but when he did, he reached over and held her against him. Her heart rate spiked up at how close they were. "Ssh…" he breathed into her ear. She shuddered and leaned in further. "He's right behind us."

Anna felt her blood run cold as her eyes rolled up to look at the window behind them. There he – it – was. The thing had no face with skin that was an ashy shade of white. Behind it were several translucent tentacles, writhing in the air.

Since it had no facial features, Anna couldn't tell if it actually knew where they were. She tried to look away, but couldn't bring herself to do it. It was as if staring at it would keep it from moving. Her eyes were completely fixed on the form looking just behind a thin layer of wood and glass. And whether it was truly effective or not, it _wasn't_ moving. It stayed so still, except for its flowing tentacles.

"Let's go."

Anna moved her gaze to the Doctor. "It'll get us."

"Come on!" He pulled her up and they were flying through the forest, again.

As they raced away, Anna stole a glance behind her and noticed that she couldn't see it anymore. Was it just behind the shed or had it completely disappeared? Where did it go?

They ran through a short tunnel. Anna looked behind her, again, and spotted it standing right outside at the entrance. It didn't chase them. No, it stood there. _So very still_ …

"Keep running!" the Doctor urged when he noticed that her steps were faltering.

She quickly picked up her pace, but no matter how fast or where they went, it was always somewhere nearby.

The next time Anna looked behind her, she saw that it was much closer, but the distance between them increased as it stood there.

"Faster, Doctor!" she panted. "I think it's somehow catching up!"

The Doctor looked behind him, but there was no one there. He stopped, halting Anna with him. "Wait. Wait!"

"Doctor – "

"Ssh!" He took out his sonic screwdriver, again.

Anna looked frantically around her, wondering if it was nearby, but she couldn't see anything.

"This way!" She was jerked to the left and just like that, they were running, again. "Come on. Come on!"

"Where are we going?!"

"White bin! Tell me if you see a white bin!"

"What?" Had he gone mad? Why were they looking for a white bin?! She shook her head and tried to comply, but the darkness made it hard to see anything. Besides, why would there be a white bin located randomly in the forest? She turned her head and caught sight of the thing that had been only a metre away.

Soon, a large, ominous- looking house came into view. It looked to be abandoned with no lights on and the windows were all chipped or shattered. Numerous shingles on the roof were missing. The walls were rotting, leaving various-sized holes in the wood. If she wasn't so on edge, Anna might've laughed at how cliché the house looked.

When they were inside, they closed the door that was slowly decaying. "A white bin, Doctor?" she whispered.

"Yep!" He popped the 'p.' He didn't sound worried, at all.

They walked together until they found a set of stairs leading up.

"Stay down here or go upstairs?" the Doctor asked her.

She looked dubiously at him. "Is it safe to split up?"

"Probably not." He shrugged. "Just go find the white bin!" He disappeared past the stairs, leaving her to stare nervously up into the darkness.

Why did they have to find a stupid bin?

She sighed and slowly trekked up the creaking stairs. He could've at least given her a torch!

"Oh! Anna, catch!" She twirled around just in time to keep a heavy metal object from hitting her in the face. "Couldn't just leave you in the dark!" And then, he was gone, again… leaving her in the dark with a torch.

With a shake of her head to clear her mind, she turned the torch on and looked down the hall. This house was much bigger than she thought. The corridor forked out at the end, leading two separated directions.

Cautiously, she opened the first door. It was dusty and the light switch didn't work. There didn't seem to be much, so she moved on to the next room. This one had another door within, so she slowly opened it. A closet. There were several moth-ridden clothes, but nothing else. She closed the door and went on exploring.

The next few doors all led to bedrooms, but the sixth one was a bathroom. She looked at the garbage bin, but it was black and she didn't want to know what the rotting grey lumps were.

As she walked by the mirrored- medicine cabinet door, her peripheral vision caught sight of a familiar figure. She barely managed to suppress a scream. Instead, she turned around and pointed her torch at the bathtub. There was a curtain over it and the silhouette was gone, but… just to be sure. She pulled it open and was relieved to find nothing. She quickly scurried out.

She could feel herself falling back into memories that she had been desperate to forget. What she really wanted to do now was find the Doctor and get out of here.

She finally reached the fork and looked to the left. It was identical to the hall she was in. She moved the light to the right and there it was. It stood very still in front of the large mirror that hung at the very end of the corridor.

It didn't move as she slowly inched back. She kept her eyes trained on it and could only hope that it was the only thing there – that this was not its home.

As she moved further and further away from it, the light from the torch grew dimmer and dimmer on its form. The batteries were running out.

She opened the next room with shaky hands. For just a second, she glanced inside, but when she returned her gaze on the form, it was already gone. She slipped in and quickly closed the door behind her. She didn't want to go back out.

How had it gotten up the stairs without her hearing? The decaying floor were so loud that each step echoed throughout the entire house.

"Doctor, I'm scared…" she whispered into the empty study. She was alone, now.

The darkness was only illuminated by the torch in her hand and the soft glow of the moonlight trickling through the shattered window. She walked towards the opening to clear her mind with the fresh air, but when she looked down, its motionless form made her scurry back. _How was that possible?_ Could it be that it could… teleport?

She shook her head in disbelief and took several steps backward before tripping over something. She groaned in pain before looking at what she had tripped over. It didn't register at first, but eventually, she realised that it was a white bin! It didn't look like anything special. She got to her knees and peeked in.

"Doctor‼!" she shouted to get his attention, knowing that the walls of the house were thin enough for her voice to penetrate through them. Immediately, she heard hurried footfalls towards her. The door burst open.

She turned to address him, but caught sight of the creature instead. There was a loud screeching noise in her head and she felt herself begin to fall. Her body tipped over something and she kept falling and falling.

D*O*C*T*O*R W*H*O

The Doctor ran upstairs the moment he heard Anna shout for him. He couldn't tell if she was in danger or that she found what they were looking for, but he could feel his hearts race with anxiety. "Why did you let her go off by herself! Stupid. Stupid. Stupid!" he reprimanded himself.

When he exploded into the room, he saw the back of the creature. Anna was on the floor, screaming with her hands clamped tightly around her ears.

Before he could reach her, she fell backwards into the white bin. Without a second thought, he dived in after her. He rotated his body to reduce air drag and managed to grab on to Anna before they hit anything.

A set of blue doors opened below them and they plunged into a deep swimming pool.

"Thanks, old girl!" The Doctor beamed at the TARDIS.

He dragged their bodies out of the water and laid on his back. He looked at Anna who seemed to be alright, but to make sure that the creature hadn't done anything to her, he placed two fingers on each side of her head.

He tried not to look too deep to preserve her privacy, but something was calling out to him. He wandered around until he found a room that was pulsing with energy. The crevice of the door revealed a bright golden glow.

He sucked in a breath of air as he realised what it was. Why hadn't she told him? What led to its renewed vigour?

He slipped out of her mind with far too many mysteries to solve. In fact, she was just one big ball of mystery! Not that he was saying she was a ball… or particularly big. Good thing she couldn't hear his thoughts.

"Anna?" He shook her gently and smiled as he caught sight of her grey orbs. "Hey."

"Hello, Doctor." Her voice cracked, but a smile of her own was making its way to her lips. "What happened?" She sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Are we in the TARDIS?"

"Ya," he replied before jumping to his feet. "Better get us outta here!"

Anna quickly followed behind him with a million questions that she was just bursting to ask.

"Doctor, why do we need to hurry? What was that thing?" she asked as she rubbed her hair dry with a towel.

He set the TARDIS to enter into the vortex before turning to her. "We were in a… digital world, I guess you could say. When I scanned the area, I noticed that everything was basically made from the same thing – pixilated blocks! Tiny little things – an infinite amount of them!"

"And the creature? Was it made of pixels, as well?"

"Essentially," he responded. "But if you die in that world, that's it. It's not like a computer game where you can start over."

"It didn't seem to want to kill us, though." Anna thought back to how it hadn't actually harmed her… physically, at least. "I think he only wanted us to leave him alone…"

The Doctor smiled at her and she knew that they were on the same wave length.

"But if it's like a computer, who is controlling it?" She frowned at the thought. "And wouldn't that make them practically a… a God…?"

He shrugged before giving her a serious look. "It's not something I want to find out."

* * *

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE_

Alright! So I may have gotten the idea from somewhere! Who recognises him?

Thank you **NicoleR85** and **NeoMulder** for reviewing!

Thank you as well to everyone who has favourited and followed this story!

If I promised I'll update faster if I get more reviews, would you review more?


	7. The Twins

**CHAPTER SEVEN: TWINS**

"'M tired, Doctor," Anna whined as she flopped over on her bed.

The Doctor had invaded her room to wake her up, but she was in no mood to do anything strenuous. In fact, she wanted to just sleep for the next week!

"Come on!" the Doctor tried to drag her out of bed, but she whacked his hands away. "Fine!"

She heard him stomp out and let released a sigh of relief before snuggling into her pillow. Unfortunately, the Doctor's head peeked back in. He had a mischievous grin on his face. "How 'bout a relaxing day in New York?" He received a grumpy grumble in return. "We'll even visit the _boring_ , old New York! You know, the one on _boring_ on old Earth." When he still heard nothing from Anna, he pouted. "If you're _really_ good, I'll even let you visit Jack."

Her head popped up and she looked at him, excitedly. "Really?" Her grey eyes sparkled with anticipation.

"Yes, really." It was him who grumbled this time. A spark of jealousy lit up inside him. "Don't see why you like that no good con man…" He sulked.

She laughed softly at how childish he was before patting his arm to comfort him. "Don't worry. You're still my favourite, Doctor."

He beamed at her before skipped out to land them in New York.

Anna stretched as the TARDIS shook violently as she usually did before landing. When she arrived downstairs, the Doctor was already waiting for her by the door.

As they were about to take a step out, Anna froze and looked down. Where there should've been solid ground, there was only air. "Doctor!" she shouted. "You parked us on a dumpster?!"

He peeked over her shoulder. "Oh, so I did!" With a grin on his face, he nudged her to get out.

She sighed in exasperation, but complied. "So why are we here, Doctor?"

An innocent look was on his face. "Didn't you say that you wanted a relaxing day? Come on!"

Not for a second did she believe him. That innocent look alone was enough to raise alarms in her head. Nonetheless, she obediently followed behind him.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see!" he mischievously replied, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

They walked out of the rank alley and merged into the busy streets of New York, New York.

Anna looked excitedly at everything. It was very different from Paris and Chiswick. She had never seen so many people rushing back and forth and the _cars_! Everyone seemed to be hurrying about with no time to take in the sceneries or see the two strange travellers walking out of the alley with a large blue wooden box behind them. When they stepped into the crowd, it was difficult trying to keep up with their pace.

Several times, she had lagged behind and several people from behind her grumbled angrily. "Sorry," she muttered to all of them, or whoever actually had the time to listen. Were all American so rude?

"This way!" The Doctor somehow managed to grasp her hand before leading her out of the crowd. "Phew! Thought I lost you for a minute there. Stay close."

She nodded and clung tightly to the Doctor, making him smile. "Are we going to visit a friend of yours?"

"Yep!" he replied. "He's just in there." A long finger pointed at the tallest building she had ever seen. IN fact, there were two side by side.

They made quick work of the journey. When they entered the lobby, the security guard gave them a scrutinizing look, but made no action to stop them.

At the receptionists' desk, the Doctor asked for a man named John Smith. Anna gave him an odd look. John Smith. _Really_? Was that who he had gotten his alias from?

After a short call to a Mr. John Smith, the receptionist gave them the 'okay' to advance.

They entered the elevator and up they ascended on to the seventy-eighth floor. The door opened and they stepped out into a beautiful view.

Anna's eyes widened with wonder. "It's beautiful!"

"It's a sky lobby," the Doctor told her. "I've heard good things about this one and I might've been here a couple of times before."

She walked out towards the large windows that encased them. New York was indeed an astounding city. "Thank you for showing me this, Doctor."

"Naw, it's nothing." He waved his hand dismissively. "I have something else to show you."

They re-entered the elevator and up on to Floor 89.

"Life insurance company?" Anna looked quizzically at the Doctor.

He shrugged.

"Johnny John John from John's Town!" The Doctor burst in with a very embarrassed Anna behind him. "Alright, not from John's Town, but no one needs to know that."

A short man emerged from the shared office space. "Mr. Smith!" The man grinned at him. "How are you, Doctor?" he asked once he was close enough to them that the others wouldn't hear.

"Wonderful!" The Doctor grinned back.

"What are you doing here?"

The Doctor's grinned turned mischievous. "You know the thing that I gave you, but you didn't want to take, so you kept it for me for safekeeping? I might need it back."

John gave the Doctor a surprised look before glancing at Anna. His eyes flickered between the two before letting out a boisterous laugh. "About time, Doctor!"

The Doctor looked sheepishly back at him while Anna had a confused look on her face. "Not quite like that, yet, but…" He shrugged.

John chuckled. "I'll go take my lunch break, now. I'll drive home to get it. Do you want to come with me or wait here?"

"Oh… I think I'd like to look around." Something in his voice made Anna worry that this was not going to be the relaxing day that the Doctor had promised her. "Anna, you want to stay?"

She shrugged. If the Doctor was going to stay here, then she would stay with him.

After John left, the Doctor plopped down on one of the uninhabited chairs and patted the seat next to him. She obliged. There wasn't much to do and she didn't feel like visiting all the other office suites, but sitting here with the scent of coffee always attacking her senses made her long for a cup.

"I'm bored, Doctor," she complained. "Why are we waiting here? What is John going to get?"

He shrugged with a large, excited grin on his face.

She didn't believe him for a second. "Doctor!?"

Finally, he decided to stop his teasing and produced a blocky, black device from his pocket. She took it into her hands, but wasn't sure what all the lights were telling her. "See those two white lights? There is something odd in this building." She raised an eyebrow at him. "We're gonna wait for it to come to us!"

The wait was excruciatingly boring. At one point, Anna thought her brain was going to leak out of her ears. Her head was beginning to droop. She felt a warm hand slowly guide her head to the side. She nestled his shoulder, trying to get comfortable.

She hadn't felt this relaxed for a very long time. Maybe not much was going to happen today, after all.

Suddenly, there was a deafening sound that shook her to the bones. The entire building trembled violently and she fell to the floor as the Doctor's body pressed against hers. She could hear chunks of debris fall around them. What was happening?

Screams were erupting from every direction. They were screams of pain and screams of fear.

Anna, herself, was disoriented from the deafening explosion. When she finally gathered her bearing, she started to worm her way out from under the Doctor. She noticed that his eyes were closed and small pieces of white debris was sprinkled on top of him. "Doctor?" She gently shook his shoulders. "Doctor?"

She was relieved to see the Doctor's eyes flutter open. He groaned and slowly got to his knees. "What's the date?"

Anna tilted her head and blinked at him in confusion. "The Date? I do not know."

He stood up and brushed himself off before offering a hand to Anna. He pulled her up and looked around him. Everything was falling apart. There was a small fire burning in the corner. Several bodies were lying beneath large blocks of debris. They were motionless.

He saw the few people who were still alive and conscious slowly get to their feet and look around. They were observing everything in disbelief.

After the explosion, it was weird how quiet everything had become. Everyone seemed to be too stunned to speak.

Anna watched as the Doctor immediately took charge. He shouted for all of their attention and carefully manoeuvred through the debris.

It seemed as if his movements had breathed life back into them. They shuffled around at first, but quickly after, they were all speaking at once in a frantic tone.

"Alright, everyone. Calm down," the Doctor urged them. When no one listened, he shouted. "BE QUIET!"

They froze to look at him for only a moment before pull panic set in.

"What happened?"

"We're going to die!"

"Someone help!"

The pandemonium consumed Anna who was already feeling nervous about the entire situation. The Doctor didn't seem to know what was going on and there were people _dying_.

The Doctor squeezed her hand reassuringly before standing on one of the desks that was relatively unscathed. He raised his sonic screwdriver, which made a loud whirling sound. It caught the attention of everyone and finally, they all looked at him.

"Alright, hello!" He gave them all a wave of his fingers and a large grin. Anna sighed. He didn't behave like any normal person.

"Who the Hell are you?" a tall, lanky man with sleeked back blonde hair glared at him. "Does anyone know who he is?" He turned to a meek brunette with square-framed glasses. "Do _you_ know him?"

The young woman shook her head fervently.

"I'm the Doctor," the Time Lord replied. "And I am going to get us out of this mess." He crouched down and picked up a small desktop calendar. "Oh, don't tell me!" He hit himself in the forehead. "Is today the eleventh of September?"

The office workers looked at him in confusion.

"Yeah, so?" the haughty blond sneered. "What about it? Why is it so important to know the date? Did you forget an appointment?"

The Doctor ignored him and turned to Anna. "I think I got us _slightly_ off course." He grinned sheepishly at her.

She sighed and shook her head. This was not the first time that the Doctor had gotten the time wrong and she knew that it definitely wouldn't be the last.

"Hey! Are you going to do anything or – "

The Doctor turned his attention back to the crowd. "Right. So it's the eleventh and we're all going to die if we don't get out, right now."

He jumped down and made his way to the first door and found that it was jammed. He pointed his screwdriver at it, but nothing happened.

Anna walked over to the brunette woman as the Doctor tinkered with the door. "Do you know the layout of this floor?"

"N-no," the woman replied. She was fiddling nervously with her fingers. 'But I think Greg does." She pointed discretely to the blond male.

Anna smiled at her. "Thank you. My name is Anna."

"Emmaline."

"Beautiful name," she complimented before walking over to Greg. "Hello."

The other blond regarded her with an annoyed expression on his face. "What do _you_ want?"

"I just want to help," Anna tried to reason with him. "The Doctor and I mean no offense. He gets a bit excitable during inappropriate situations, but he usually pulls through in these tough times."

Greg sighed with his nose and raked a hand through his hair, loosening it from the stiffness of the gel. "I know I may come out as a… bad person, but I'm not. I've been working here for a while now and if you're not strict, people don't listen to you."

"I understand." Anna smiled at him and patted his arm. She didn't really care about his reasons, as long as he was willing to cooperate. "Right now, I need to know the layouts of this floor, so that we could plan a way out. As the Doctor said, we need to get out of here quickly."

The fire in the room was spreading. Thick, black smoke was starting to make it difficult to breathe. She could only hope that no one had any medical conditions.

Greg led her to his desk. She noticed that everything was overturned and a small fire had started where the desk lamp had collided with a stack of papers. He poked at it with a ruler and pushed bits of burnt scraps away. "I… think it was in this pile, but it's probably gone by now."

Anna was immediately disheartened. "Do you know where the nearest stairwell is?" Perhaps they wouldn't need a map.

They walked out into the hallway where a blazing fire had started amongst the debris. There was nowhere to go from there.

The Doctor appeared beside her with the small group of people. "Try to extinguish the fire. We'll see if we can make a path through there," he ordered the two men who were holding fire extinguishers. He turned to Anna. "How are ya doing?"

"Alright," Anna replied. Even if she wasn't, what could they do about it? If she survived this, she'd force the Doctor to park the TARDIS in Cardiff so that she could relax with Jack and Ianto.

They heard a series of coughs beside them.

Greg was trying to suppress it, but it was obvious that the black smoke was affecting him the most.

"Greg, let's find you some water." She shared a worried look with the Doctor before helping Greg to any salvageable bottles of water.

She found one lying sideways beside a fallen cabinet and soaked two pieces of fabric she had ripped from her dress and gave one to him. "Place it against your nose and mouth. It should help a little." She handed the rest of the bottle to him. "Make this last as long as possible."

"Anna, can I speak with you?" the Doctor had a serious expression on his face. It seemed as if he had been contemplating for a while. He dragged her to a private corner and said, "I want you to try using your wings, again. I know you're having trouble with it, but we might not have any other options. The path is heavily blocked. I don't think we have enough time to clear it."

Knowing he was right, Anna made her way to the window and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and concentrated all her energy into bringing her wings out. Just like last time, however, the appendages writhed painfully underneath her skin. With a shudder, she stopped and leaned against the wall in exhaustion and pain.

What she failed to notice was the crack that was running down the wall. It grew as weight was being exerted upon it. As the blonde was still trying to catch her breath, the weakened frame finally gave way.

Anna's eyes snapped open as she realised that she was falling forward. She heard the Doctor cry out her name, but it was too late. The wall crumbled to the floor and she could see the city below her. Just as she thought she was going to plunge down to a gruesome death, she hit an invisible barrier.

It took her a minute to realise that she was still alive and standing. The Doctor was beside her and pulled her away. He turned her head side to side and tilted it upward and down.

"Sorry," she whispered. "I'm completely useless. All I'm doing is causing more trouble."

"Hey, I always choose the best," the Doctor told her. "Besides, you've uncovered that there's some kind of barrier around here."

He took out his screwdriver and scanned the invisible wall. "Yep. What crashed into the building doesn't want us to get out."

 _Knock. Knock._

Everyone froze.

 _Knock. Knock._

"Is anyone in there?" they heard a man shout from beyond an office wall.

It took them a moment, but eventually, everyone started to yell at the same time.

"We've going to get you guys out!" came the reply. "Stand back from the wall!"

They waited with anticipation as a crowbar poked through. An eye peeked through to look at them. The Doctor was there at an instant, speaking animatedly to their saviours.

Watching the wall break down was excruciatingly slow. Inch by inch, the tiny hole grew. Greg tried to help, but he was consumed by another bout of coughs.

"Greg." Anna led him away from the wall. "Do you have medication that can help you with that cough?"

He shook his head. "I'll be alright."

She rubbed his back to try to soothe his condition, but it was futile. He broke into another fit of coughs. When he finally stopped, she could see specks of blood on his hand.

"Doctor, we really need to get him out, soon," she called out to the Time Lord who nodded absentmindedly back at her.

The hold was almost wide enough for them to get through. She hoped that the other side would be their route to freedom and not just another path with a dead end.

"Come on! File through!" the man from the other side shouted at them.

Obediently, everyone lined up and carefully climbed over to the adjacent room.

The last to leave were the Doctor, Anna, and Greg. Anna helped the blonde through, while the Doctor made sure no one was left behind.

* * *

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE_

I hope this is not too soon. I wrote this with no means of disrespect. Quite the opposite, in fact. I may not be American, but I can still remember seeing this on television after coming home from primary school and it was just mind blowing… It was something everyone talked about here. My parents were calling all their relatives and friends and mum actually had a friend whose daughter worked there, but thankfully, she wasn't working on that day.

I had actually written this chapter shortly after watching the documentary _9/11: Heroes of the 88th Floor_. It was just so inspiring and heartbreaking. And it's not just the two men addressed in the documentary. There were so, so many unsung heroes that day – all the firefighters, policemen, hundreds of workers who probably risked and lost their lives helping others first. And all the families who lost someone. My condolences to them all and to any of you whose been affected by this tragedy.

Once again, this was not written to offend anyone. I know it's probably a sore subject, but I think the best way to pay respect to someone is to immortalise it through writing and to keep the story alive, especially for something so heroic.

On a lighter note, I'd like to thank guest ( **HeavyAway** ) for reviewing! I hope you liked this chapter!

Thank you as well to everyone who has favourited and followed this story!


	8. The Heroes

**CHAPTER EIGHT: THE HEROES**

John was staring at the news in horror. Today was supposed to be a happy day of celebrating! How could something like this happen? Or had the Doctor known? Was that why he was sent away?

No, that couldn't be. He had seen the way the Doctor looked at his companion. Surely, even a reckless man like him wouldn't have taken her there if he had known. Surely…

Shakily, he placed the small box on the table and waited for the good news because he would accept nothing else.

D*O*C*T*O*R W*H*O

"Everyone, head towards Stairwell C," the taller man shouted to the small crowd. He had a walkie talkie in one hand and a yellow hard hat perched on his head. Anna could only assume he was some type of construction worker here. "You three, please follow them."

As expected, the Doctor was first inquisitive. Were the men going to follow them? Did they know what happened? Then he was adamant that he would go with the men to search for any trapped survivors.

The man looked calculatingly at the Doctor before nodding.

"Anna, take him out with you," the Doctor ordered.

She wondered if he actually thought she was going to listen to him. "I'm not leaving without you."

"Anna." He gave her a stern look.

"No, Doctor." She wasn't going to relent.

With an exasperated sigh, he shook his head. "Alright, _you_ -" He pointed to Greg. "Go follow them. Someone will help you down the stairs."

Greg looked nervously at the Doctor. "I-I'm not going, either."

The Doctor let out a sound of frustration and through his hand into the air. "I give up."

A small smile spread across Anna's face before making her way to him. "Up?"

He looked at her and nodded. "Up."

D*O*C*T*O*R W*H*O

As they walked down the corridor, shouting to alert any survivors, the new men introduced themselves. The taller man was Frank and the shorter, darker skinned man was Pablo. They had decided to keep going upwards to help anyone who was trapped in the building. Seeing the heroism of the duo, the Doctor couldn't help but start up on a new rant about the wonders of the human species.

"And that's why I love humans! You guys are so unpredictable! So full of love and bravery! So full of hope! So full of faith!"

At this point, the smoke was getting difficult to bear and Anna couldn't help but envy his respiratory bypass. Beside her, she could tell that Greg wasn't going to last much longer. She wondered by he was so adamant to stay with them. Why did he want to ascend the building? Did he have friends and family up there?

"How are you feeling?" Anna gave Greg a concerned look. "Do you want to go back?"

Greg waved her off as he coughed. "No, I'm fine!"

Seeing that it was starting to aggravate him, Anna decided not to pry any further.

As they arrived on Floor 92, the horror was unimaginable. A large chunk of a plane was planted through the ceiling. Fire blazed around it and clumps of what seemed to have been people were scattered around and on the plane. The Doctor told the two construction workers to stay back as he tried to make his way to the plane.

Anna followed closely behind him. The black billowing smoke made seeing anything else extremely difficult. She had one hand clamped tightly around the Doctor's shoulder and one hand on the damp fabric that was pressed against her nose and mouth. She could feel Greg doing the same and wondered how he was still able to keep up with them.

As they neared the aircraft, the Doctor slipped out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the enormous machine. Its form flickered several times before the illusion completely faded away.

"Ah ha!" The Doctor jumped in realisation, surprising both individuals behind him. "Perception filter!"

Anna felt Greg let go of her. He walked past the two time travellers and stumbled to the burning _space_ craft. She made to follow him, but the Doctor held her back. With a frozen, she watched Greg walk alone.

The blonde man slipped out a pendent from his neck. He pressed a small button on it and a hidden door opened on the spacecraft.

Realisation finally hits Anna. _This_ was why he had been so adamant on following them.

Greg shouted out several names, but there was no reply. He tried, again. Nothing.

By the time he had fallen to his knees in grief, Anna had tears streaming down her face.

"We have to go!" the Doctor shouted to Greg who remained unresponsive. "The building is about to collapse. Come on!"

"Greg! They wouldn't want you to do this to yourself. Live for them if nothing else!" Anna didn't know what relationships he had with them, but Greg seemed to react to her words. He got off his knees and ran back towards them.

As he approached them, the floor beneath his feet collapsed and he plunged into the raging fire that had spread throughout the floor below.

Anna screamed and wanted to look for him, but the Doctor quickly grabbed her hand.

"I'm sorry, Anna, but he's gone," he said with remorse. "And I'm not about to let you kill yourself here. I just got you back. I'm never letting you go." He gave her hand a comforting squeeze before they ran back to Frank and Pablo who were scouting around while patiently waiting for them. They took note that there was one less member amongst them, but said nothing. There was nothing to say.

"They building is collapsing. We have to go, _now_ ," the Doctor ordered.

They ran down the stairs, but as they hit each floor, Pablo and Frank began their search, once more.

The Doctor was torn between searching with them and running away. It wasn't only his life on the line, but also Anna's. He couldn't do that to her.

When he looked at her, she must've seen his internal conflict because she gave him an encouraging smile. "We can't leave them behind."

He grinned at her. "You're brilliant, Anna." He surprised her by grabbing her forearms and planted a quick, but deep kiss on her lips. She stared at him, dazed, and touched her lips.

Had that really happened?

"Come on!" He still had the stupid grin on his face as he carefully led her to where the other duo were calling out.

They continued this process to Floor 78 where the enchanting sky lobby had been. Now, it was difficult to imagine how the lobby had once looked. It was a horror scene. Dead bodies were strewn across the floor. Electrical wires were swinging near puddles of water. The sparks at the tips of the wire were dangerously close to electrocuting them all.

Because the lobby was mainly just a method of getting to higher floors, they nearly missed a poor individual who was trapped in one of the elevators.

Frank and Pablo were the first to try to pry the heavy metal doors open. No matter how hard they tried, however, it was futile.

The Doctor pointed his sonic screwdriver at the door, which immediately slid open. "Opens every door!" he beamed at them.

"Except when they're wooden or deadlocked," Anna added.

The Doctor waved her off. "Not important!"

"Unless it gets us trapped," Anna muttered. He shot her an annoyed look, which she shrugged off.

When the man trapped in the elevator tumbled out, they quickly directed him to the staircase.

It was a wonderful feeling being able to save the trapped survivors, but the looming thought to the building falling on them dampened their moods.

Suddenly, there was another great tremour that shook the entire building. The Doctor immediately grabbed Anna and pulled her close to him. Several wires burst into sparks and chunks of debris rained down on them.

When it stopped, they were all breathing heavily, looking around them and wondering if the building had been hit a second time.

"We can't stay here for much longer," the Doctor yelled at them. "This building WILL collapse in the next nine minutes. There is no time to search anymore and there will be no time to get out for ANYONE." Even as the Doctor said that, he wondered if they actually had enough time to go down all seventy- seven floors.

Frank and Pablo looked at each other. Was it time for them to go? Both of them had family waiting. Finally, they nodded and ran towards the stairs. The four of them practically jumped down the sets of stairs.

When they were midway down to Floor 21, the building shook violently, again, before they were deafened by an explosion above them. It had started off with a low rumble, but it grew louder and louder.

The building was finally coming down. There was no time to get out.

As they clung on to the wall, the Doctor held Anna close to him. "I'm so sorry," he whispered to her. "I sore to myself that I wouldn't' let anything happen to you."

She shook her head and gave him a small smile. "If I had a choice, I'd choose to go with you than to go on by myself. I'd follow you anywhere, Doctor."

His arms around her tightened. All he could do was apologise.

Anna buried her face into his suit. "Stop. Stop!"

He wasn't sure if he could. When he was nervous, all the thoughts in his mind became jumbled and he couldn't stop rambling.

"Doctor!" She grabbed his head tightly with her hands and tipped it downward so that his eyes were locked on to her grey orbs.

"I'm sorry," he blurted out. "I'm so –"

She crashed her lips on to his.

"Oh…" He had a dazed look on his face when she pulled away. "Are you sorry for that?"

Anna laughed. "No, Doctor. Never for that."

Despite their situation, he felt a happy, loopy grin spread across his face. "Oh!"

Unfortunately, their short moment of happiness was interrupted by a second violent tremour. Loud rumbles echoed throughout the narrow stairwell. Debris rained down on them. With one last loud explosion, there was a moment of silence.

Anna clenched her eyes shut and held the Doctor closer. His arms tightened around her waist before he let out a confused shout. "What?!"

She peeked out and saw a round spaceship hovering beside them. Beyond the door opening was a shroud of darkness

"Come on! Going to be a tight fit, but get in! Get in!" Her heart soared as she recognised the voice.

Without hesitation, she intertwined her hands with the Doctor and pulled the two of them on. Frank and Pablo looked stunned, but with the urgent shouts coming from three people, they hopped on and the door sealed shut.

D*O*C*T*O*R W*H*O

Anna took a deep breath. It was nice being able to breathe fresh air again… Except it wasn't fresh air. She let out hacking coughs as grey soot entered her lungs. The entire alley seemed to be covered in a thick layer of powder and debris.

From beside her, Frank and Pablo was still in awe at the fact that not only had they just been inside an alien ship, but also that they were still alive. When Frank had told his wife to keep moving, he hadn't expected another chance to actually see her again. He could see his children… His precious children.

The Doctor rotated his shoulders. "Ah! There's my old girl!" He skipped over to the TARDIS that was still on top of the dumpster. After disappearing for a few minutes, he came back with two envelopes and two rings. Both were handed to the men who were observing their surroundings.

It was like snow was all around them, except it wasn't snow. They could hear the screams of terror still running up and down the streets. Firefighters ran towards the collapsed buildings. They frantically tried to communicate with their comrades who were in the towers. Disbelief was on every one of their faces.

How many had died? How many were still going to die? Did they deserve to live?

"What did you give them, Doctor?" Anna asked. Her eyes were red from the tears that she had shed and the dust that was irritating them. Pale lashes were coated in white. She looked like a snow princess amongst the disaster.

The Doctor wondered if he was always going to feel like this, now. This constant terror of losing her. He had to resist the urge to drop her off, again, but he knew how much it had hurt her. There was no way that he could do it to her a second time. She meant so much to him. If it hadn't been sheer luck that Greg had found the escape pod and rescued them, they would've all died. How could he live with himself knowing that at any moment, she'd be dead because of him?

He cupped her cheeks in his hands as she looked expectantly back up at him. His thumb rubbed the soft skin, revealing her naturally pale complexion. "A new life," he whispered. "They were meant to die, today. They become an inspiration for so many and the change could destroy the course of history." His eyes broke away from Anna's and he looked at the men who had taken the papers out. "They'll be able to live the rest of their lives with their families, now. The perception filter from the ring would disguise them."

The smile that she gave him made his hearts skip happily in his chest. "You're brilliant, Doctor." She stood on her tippy toes and left a chaste peck on his cheek. He just about had a cardiac arrest.

After sending Frank and Pablo on their ways, they bid their farewells to Greg who, then, zoomed away.

"Take me home, now, Doctor," Anna said, placing her hand into his much larger ones.

He beamed at her before leading them to the TARDIS. That's right – this was _their_ home.

* * *

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE_

I think I might merge back into canon plot after this. It's been several chapters since I touched upon that. Do you guys prefer a little more original content or for me to mainly stick to the canon story? I'm pretty alright with both.

Thank you guest ( **HeavyAway** ) for reviewing! Thanks for the compliments! I really do hope to do this justice.

Thank you as well to everyone who has favourited and followed this story.

I would love to hear from all of you!


	9. The Moon

**CHAPTER NINE: THE MOON**

Anna sat on the metal grating in the control room, holding on to a pillar and watching the Doctor hop around the console as he usually did. She wondered if he had always been this bad at driving the TARDIS or if his skills had deteriorated over the centuries.

Travelling with the Doctor had become natural to her, now. After the fiasco with the Racnoss and the overwhelming amount of trips afterwards, she truly felt like she belonged in the TARDIS.

The loss of Rose still hung over their heads, but both of them side stepped the topic whenever they could. Every once in a while, Anna would wonder if the Doctor would be happier if Rose was here, instead, but she could never linger on the thought for too long.

She sighed.

"That's weird..." she heard the Doctor mumble. He had his glasses on and was staring intently at the screen.

"What's weird?"

"The readings on this are off the charts!"

Anna tilted her head before walking over to him and peeked over his shoulder. She didn't understand any of the numbers and the Doctor wasn't eager to explain, so she took his word for it and waited for what he planned to do.

"Stay in the TARDIS, I'll be back soon."

That wasn't what she wanted to hear. "I'm not going to be abandoned in the TARDIS, again!"

The Doctor ignored her and walked out the door.

She looked uncertainly after him, wondering if she should actually follow. Would he be angry if she went against his wishes? Sometimes, he could be so moody.

"Well? Are you coming?" His head peeked back in.

With a grin, she nodded and followed him out.

It was a quiet walk to wherever the Doctor wanted to go, but Anna was satisfied. She was happy just to be able to stay close to him. "Here we are." He suddenly keeled over, startling Anna who immediately went to hold him up. "Hospital..." he groaned out before looking up at her and winked.

She suppressed a laugh and entered the hospital. Immediately, the staffs were staring at them as the Doctor wailed about his abdominal. It was embarrassing, yet completely hilarious. "Ooooh... It hurts! It's hurts!"

"Doctor! Doctor!" Anna wondered whether she was actually calling for a medical doctor or whether she was trying to get her Doctor to stop being overdramatic.

A nurse rushed over and asked them what was wrong. Instead of explaining as the Doctor usually did, he only wailed louder. The nurse turned to Anna who stared back at her, unsure on what to say. She wasn't good with talking to strangers!

"Ah... the Doc-"

"John," the Doctor wheezed out.

"John has been in pain – severe pain – for the past few hours." Anna swallowed.

The nurse gave her an odd look but ushered them into a room before sliding the white curtain shut. "Please wait here with your husband. A doctor will come shortly."

Anna gaped at her. "I-I'm not... I mean we're not-" The nurse left before she could say anything else.

"John?" Anna hissed at him.

"John Smith!" He grinned back.

"Married?"

He shrugged. "Not my fault."

Anna sighed. On one hand, she was happy that the Doctor didn't seem adverse to the idea of being married to her. On the other hand, his mood swings were more confusing than any Earth woman she'd ever encountered, which wasn't much if she thought about it.

Soon, a doctor who was heavily balding walked past the curtains. "Hello, Mr..."

"John Smith!" the Doctor grinned at him.

"Mr. Smith. I am Dr. Stoker. I heard from the nurse that you are experiencing some pain?"

As if suddenly remembering that he should be in pain, he began to wail again.

Anna groaned and shook her head. "Abdominal pain, doctor. Do you know what's wrong with him?"

"How has it been since it began?"

"A few hours ago – four?" Anna frowned, wondering if that was what she told the nurse.

The doctor began to write down some notes. "Has he had any antacid tablets?"

"Ah... Yes." She hoped that that was the right answer. "It hasn't worked."

"Has he had any previous history of severe abdominal pains?"

She shook her head. "I don't know what's wrong with him, doctor. Will he be alright?"

"Perhaps I can... stay here for the night? It's really hurting." The Doctor put on his most pained face and stared at Dr. Stoker.

Reluctantly, the doctor agreed before walking away.

"Is that all? I thought he'd be more thorough." Anna tilted her head. "What are you going to do, now?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Stay here until something happens."

Anna sighed and took a seat beside him. "We'll be here all night?" She really didn't want to stay in the hospital.

"Yep!" He popped the 'p.' "Want to get my jammies for me?"

She stared at him. "You want me to... retrieve your night clothes?"

He nodded solemnly.

"Where's your room?"

"The TARDIS will help you."

Anna let out a puff of air before leaving him to return to the TARDIS. "Suddenly, I feel like his maid..." she mumbled sadly. "He said you'd help me get into his room for his... jammies..." The TARDIS hummed as the corridors began to rearrange themselves. "Thanks."

She opened the door that glowed gold and peeked inside. Surprisingly, or perhaps unsurprisingly, the room was in completely chaos. There were alien parts littered across a long work table; little nibbles were spilling out from their boxes; books were dog eared and flipped down. The only thing that was neat was the bed.

Cautiously making sure not to step on anything that would cause her to trip and break her neck, she managed to open the closet door and gasped as several objects fell on her. She groaned and rubbed her head. Never would she ever enter this disaster zone, again.

She found several sets of his usually pin striped suit, a TARDIS blue one and a formal black tuxedo. She pushed them aside and gaped. Even his closet?!

It was much bigger on the inside. In fact, there was an entire corridor behind his usual suits. She walked in and looked at all the foreign objects. There was a collection of jewellery in a glass case and on it was a label she couldn't read. Didn't the TARDIS translate everything? The writing was circular and beautiful. It reminded her of abstract art.

She walked over to the hangers with his collection of identical pyjamas. _He needed some fashion variety..._ She turned her head and saw a long, multicoloured scarf hanging on a coat hanger. _And some fashion tips…_

When she returned back to the hospital, she saw him happily eating a banana. A bunch with only two left was sitting beside him. "Want a banana, Anna? Oh, it rhymes! Banana Anna! Anna banana!"

Did he go completely mad while she was away? "I really don't think the doctors are keeping you here because of abdominal pain, anymore."

"Hm?"

"Mrs. Smith?"

Anna stiffened. "I'm not-"

"She's not feeling well

"Wha-" She glared at him. What was he playing at?

"I think she's hungry."

The nurse turned to Anna. "Would you like me to lead you to the cafeteria?"

"N-"

"Please."

In frustration, Anna threw his pyjamas at his head. He let out a dramatic 'oof.' "Oi! Sick patient here!"

"Annoyed _wife_ here!"

By now, there were several spectators looking at the spectacle in amusement. The men were shaking their head in understanding while the women were cheering her on.

Anna huffed as she turned and followed the nurse.

"How long have the two of you been married?" the nurse, whose name tag showed "Clarissa," inquired.

"Not long," Anna mumbled.

Clarissa smiled at her. "I can tell. The two of you still have that sweetness about you."

"Sweetness?" Anna frowned. She would not call what they had _sweet_.

"Yes. I wish my husband and I were like that. All he does, now, is sit in front of the telly and watch football." Clarissa shook her head and smiled fondly at the thought of her husband.

"The Doctor – ah... I usually call him that." Anna didn't know what Clarissa might have been thinking when the nurse started to giggle, but there was a faint blush growing from her neck. "He acts more like a kid than anything else. And his mood swings, they drive me crazy!"

Clarissa pat her arm comfortingly. "Men. They need to be coddled and feel like they have all of your attention. In a few years, they'll be so busy watching the telly that they won't even notice you."

"Is that how it is with your husband?" Anna tilted her head.

The nurse giggled. "Oh, no. After football season is over, he's very, very attentive."

Anna laughed.

They arrived at the cafeteria and Anna was sad to see Clarissa go back to work. She was a very nice woman.

By the next morning, Anna was bored out of her mind. The Doctor gave her the option of returning back to the TARDIS, but she didn't want to stay alone. Thankfully, Clarissa managed to convince some staff members to move a couch for Anna to sleep in. Unfortunately, the Doctor didn't require much sleep and he was ranting to himself for the majority of the night.

"Now then, Mr. Smith, a very good morning to you. How are you, today?" Mr. Stoker greeted them.

"Aw, not so bad," the Doctor replied. "Still a bit, you know... blah."

"Not so bad..." Anna mumbled darkly. "Had no sleep all night because of stupid mad man who wouldn't stop talking."

The Doctor nudged her.

"John Smith, admitted yesterday with severe abdominal pains. Jones, why don't you see what you can find. Amaze me." Dr. Stoker watched as the young female intern walked towards the patient.

She put on her stethoscope and said, "That wasn't very clever, running around outside, was it?"

"Sorry?" The Doctor frowned at her.

"On Chancery Street this morning. The two of you came up to me, but you dropped your tie."

"Really?" He looked at her in fascination. "What did we do that for?"

"I don't know. You just did." She frowned back at him. Was this man daft?

"Not me," he argued. "I was here – in bed. Ask my wife."

Anna nodded in confirmation.

"Well, that's weird, 'cause it looked like you. Have you both got siblings?"

"No, not anymore. Just me." Anna squeezed his hand, which he gratefully squeezed back.

Jones squinted at Anna. "Are you sure? You look really, _really_ familiar."

"As time passes and I grow ever more inform and weary, Ms. Jones," Mr. Stoker leered at his intern.

"Sorry. Right," she apologized before placing the stethoscope on the Doctor's chest. _Da. Da. Da. Dum._ She frowned and moved it to the right side. _Da. Da. Da. Dum._ She looked up and saw the Doctor wink at her.

"I weep for further generations. Are you having trouble locating the heart, Ms. Jones?"

"Um. I don't know. Stomach cramps?" She was still staring at the man in wonder.

"That is a symptom, not a diagnosis." Mr. Stoker pursed his lips. "And you rather failed basic techniques by not consulting first with the patient's chart." He picked up the clipboard and quickly dropped it after receiving an electric shock.

"That happened to me this morning," Martha told him.

"And me, on the lift," another intern added.

"That's only to be expected. There's a thunderstorm moving in and lightning is a form of static electricity, as was first proven by – anyone?"

"Benjamin Franklin," the Doctor replied.

"Correct!"

"My mate, Ben. That was a day and a half. I got rope burns off that kite and then I got soaked..." Anna nudged him. "... and then I got electrocuted," he finished. The woman beside him snorted.

"Moving on." Mr. Stoker gave him a strange look. "I think perhaps a visit from the psychiatrist..." he mumbled as he walked off.

Anna's shoulders shook as she tried to suppress her laughter. "Doctor, you are absolutely ridiculous. Can't you just put a little effort on blending in? I swear, one of these days, someone is going to really admit you into a mental asylum."

"It would be an interesting experience." He grinned at her.

She raised a pale eyebrow. "Really? Trapped in a white, padded room for years? I don't think you'd even last a day."

He grimaced. "Maybe not." His mood quickly cheered when he looked up at her. "Want to get me some banana bread?"

"They have banana bread here?"

"They did when I asked a nice nurse to get it for me." He widened his eyes and she groaned. A nine hundred year old Time Lord shouldn't have such wide puppy eyes.

Despite not wanting to move, she left to retrieve him some banana bread, but she doubt that the cafeteria staff would be as kind to her. Maybe she'd ask for some plain bananas. He seemed to like them just fine, yesterday.

When it was her turn at the cafeteria line up, she _did_ ask for banana bread, but as expected, they merely told her that they didn't have any. She also asked for anything banana other than bananas, but she received the same reply. Was this some form of sexism? In the end, the middle aged lady thrust a bunch of bananas in her face and told her to move on.

Anna huffed and made her way back to the Doctor. If she was back in Paris, William would... William would... She frowned. He'd probably try to kill her or have her under his control, again. Despite everything that had happened, she missed him. William was the one constant in her life for two centuries. Of course, there had been a reason for that.

Before she could delve upon her own self pity any longer, the floor gave a tremendous tremble. She waved her arms around to regain balance and quickly looked around to see if everyone was alright. No one was injured, but her eyes caught sight of the window.

It wasn't day time anymore and they were certainly not on planet Earth. The sky was dark with speckles of twinkling stars. Where were they?

She ran off to the direction of the Doctor, but when they arrived, he wasn't there, anymore. Why was he always leaving her? He was the one who kept telling his companions not to wander off. What was she going to do, now? Everyone was running around in a frenzy. There was no way she'd be able to find him. And it wasn't as if she could go around screaming 'Doctor! Doctor!'

With no plan in mind, she began to explore and try to figure out what had teleported them. Things had calmed down after everyone realized that they were not going to die, but the tension was high. People were frightened but knew that there was nothing they could do, except wait for what was to come.

Anna had no trouble getting to the first floor, but eventually she encountered the species that she presumed had transported them. They were bulky humanoid forms with rhino heads. The Judoon were known to be intergalactic thugs, disguised as the police. She assumed that this was the moon, neutral grounds for them to conduct their jurisdiction. Who were they looking for?

She was about to ask them why they were here, but they pointed a scanner at her and immediately began to shout. "Non-human found!"

"What?" She frowned in confusion and began to run when they looked as if they were going to arrest her. What did she do?!

Eventually, she rounded a corner and managed to lose them by hiding in a room.

"Hello!" She turned at the familiar voice. The Doctor was kneeing uncomfortably on the floor with two faceless humanoid figures holding him down. "She's the wife I was talking about! Oooh, and she brought bananas! I love bananas! Good source of potassium."

"Oh?" The old woman standing across from him raised a white eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"Yep!" He popped his 'p.' "Can you believe it? She's an alien!" he said to Anna.

Anna froze. She knew he was trying to tell her that this was the alien the Judoon were looking for, but what did he want her to do? Did he want her to bring them here or to save him from being... whatever the alien was going to do to him?

"Hmm..." As Anna was contemplating, the old woman was also thinking of changing her plans. "You look younger... softer..." The woman approached Anna slowly with a straw in her hand. "I think you'd make a better meal."

"No!" the Doctor shouted. "Don't hurt her!

Anna looked frantically between the Doctor and the woman before deciding to stay. If she could protect the Doctor in any way, she would.

"Anna, run!"

She shook her head. Usually, she'd respect his wishes, but not this time. She couldn't just leave him to die!

"How sweet," the woman sneered. "The husband wants to protect the wife and the wife wants to protect the husband. If it really matters to you so much, I'm sure I can make enough room to have you both."

Instinctively, Anna cringed and stepped back, pressing her back against the door. The stab made her wince, but it was the sucking that was painful. She gritted her teeth and tried to calm her heart, but the quickly decreasing supply of blood was making it work overtime. "Doctor..." she mumbled as her legs folded from beneath her and her vision darkened.

The Doctor watched in horror when she fell lifelessly to the floor. For him, he might be fine. He had two hearts and the ability to regenerate, but Seraphixians were different. They were more fragile than Time Lords.

Suddenly, the door slammed open and he winced as it struck Anna's head. He took advantage of the distraction and crawled over to Anna before moving her from additional harm's way. He moved back several tendrils of hair, revealing a small gash on her forehead. She was bleeding. He held his breath as he took her pulse. There was one, but very weak. She was going to be alright. He won't let her slip through his arms.

Martha had burst in and immediately knew she hit something. Unfortunately, she didn't have the time to access what or who she hit. "It was her!" she exclaimed to the Judoon. "She killed her! She did it! She murdered her!"

The Judoon didn't seem impressed. "The Judoon have no authority over human crime."

Martha frowned in frustration. "But she's not human," she protested.

"Oh, but I am," Florence retorted smugly and showed them the back of her hand that had an 'X' on it. "I've been catalogued."

"But she's not! She assimil –" Martha froze. Since the Doctor wasn't human, did that mean that his wife was also an... alien? "You drank her blood," she mumbled before snatching the scanner from the Judoon.

With a roll of her eyes, Florence stood still as Martha used the scanner on her.

"Non-human," the Judoon announced.

Florence's eyes widened. "What?"

"Confirm analysis."

"Oh, but it's a mistake, surely." Florence's shifted nervously. "I'm human. I'm as human as they come."

"She gave her life so they'd find you" Martha told her.

"Confirmed: Plasmavore. I charge you with the crime of murdering the princess of Patrival Regency Nine," the Judoon droned in its gruff voice.

Realising that her ruse was up, she exclaimed, "She deserved it! Those pink cheeks and those blonde curls and that simpering voice. She was _begging_ for the bite of a plasmavore."

"Do you confess?" the Judoons towered over her.

"Confess? I'm proud of it! Slab, stop them!"

The leather clad figures shot at the Judoon who quickly defeated them. "Verdict: guilty. Sentence: execution."

"Enjoy your victory, Judoon, because you're going to burn with me. Burn in Hell!" she shrieked before she was disintegrated.

"Case closed. All units withdraw." With that said, the Judoon stomped out.

Martha gasped for air as she half crawled over to the Doctor. "Is she...?"

"Alive," he breathed out. "She's still alive."

Martha quickly began to perform CPR on her. She followed the rhythm of her own heart and gave the platinum blonde the last of her lung reserves.

Martha smiled at the Doctor before collapsing beside them. Anxiously, he looked out the window where the Judoon were filing back into their spaceship. "Come on. Come on. Come on..." He bounced with Anna in his arms. "Reverse it." As it started to rain, he smiled. "It's raining. It's raining on the moon."

The Doctor carried Anna to the TARDIS when he was assured that everyone was going to survive. He smiled at Martha and gave a small finger wave from beneath Anna's body.

When he entered TARDIS, he laid Anna gently on the med bay bed – somewhere he was sure that Anna was tired of ending up. He sighed as he looked at her. She always ended up injured and she was with him. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea bringing her back on to the TARDIS. At least on Earth, he'd be sure that she was still somewhere reachable. His hearts ached as he thought about Rose who was trapped in a parallel world. He didn't know what he would do if he lost Anna, as well. At least if she was safely back in Paris, he'd be able to visit her whenever he wanted.

He hit himself on the head. Hadn't he tried that already? A great load of good _that_ did! He caved in in only a few hours!

He stroked her hair absentmindedly, wondering what life would be like without her.

"D-Doctor...?" Anna's eyes fluttered open and she looked up at him.

"Hello." He grinned, thrusting all his previous thoughts behind a closed door to be pondered later.

"I feel like a cup of pudding," she whined.

He chuckled and handed her two brown pills. "This'll help you restore your blood supply."

"Thanks." She took them gratefully and swallowed the pills before the Doctor could give her the glass of water in his hands. "I'm glad... I'm glad you're alright, Doctor." She looked down. After she had passed out, she was worried that the plasmavore was really going to drain him, as well.

"Alright..." the Doctor mumbled. "Alright?! You nearly died and you're glad that I'm alright? Why didn't you run? I told you to run! Why didn't you listen to me, you stupid ape?!"

Anna's eyes went wide and she mentally reprimanded herself as tears sprung out. "I-I'm sorry." She looked down, fear coursed through her body. "Please don't drop me."

He froze. "Anna... I'm... I'm not going to-" He sighed. "I'm not going to just drop you off."

She looked hopefully up at him. "You're not?"

"No." He would never be able to do it, again.

A smile slowly spread across her face and she lunged over to envelope him in a hug, catching him by surprise. "I never want to leave," she whispered into his neck. "I have nowhere to go and I'm afraid of being alone."

He wrapped his arms around her. He knew the feeling. Although he had always wanted to travel, he still wanted a place to call home – somewhere definite.

Eventually, the two broke away, smiling. "Come on, we have someone to pick up," he grinned at her.

She nodded at him. "The intern?"

"Yep!" He rushed over to the console with her following closely behind. "Allons-y!" He pulled the lever.

Anna poked her head out the door after the TARDIS settled. She walked out and continued on until she found the dark-skinned woman with a feuding family in front of her.

The Doctor stopped beside her and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.

"What's her name?" she asked him.

"Martha," he replied as the woman finally spotted them and began to make her way over. "Martha Jones."

"I went to the moon, today," was the first thing Martha said to them.

"A bit more peaceful than down here," he said with a grin.

Martha smiled at him. "You never even told me who you are."

"The Doctor."

"What sort of species?" Her smile widened. "It's not every day I get to ask that."

"I'm a Time Lord."

"And you?" Martha turned to Anna. "Are you a Time Lord, too?"

The platinum blonde shook her head. "I'm part human, part Seraphixian."

"What is that exactly?"

Anna pondered. "I guess you would call us angels."

"Right! Not pompous, at all, then." Martha laughed.

"I just thought since we're all alive and I've got a brand new sonic screwdriver, which needs road testing, you might fancy a trip."

"What, into space?" Martha inquired jokingly.

"Well..."

"I can't." She shook her head in disbelief. "I've got exams. I've got things to do. I have to go into town first thing and pay the rent. I've got my family going mad..."

"If it helps, I can travel in time, as well."

"Get out of here," she exclaimed with wide eyes.

The Doctor only smiled smugly at her. "I can."

"Come on, now, that's going too far."

Anna laughed and pulled the Doctor in. "We'll prove it!"

When they arrived back several hours, they ran about, trying to find Martha on Chancery Street. The Doctor was the first to spot her and happily took his tie off and wound it around his neck, but he bumped into another man and it fluttered down to the ground. Anna, who was right behind him, laughed and picked it up. They both grinned happily at the confused intern before racing back to the TARDIS.

When they landed back in front of Martha, the Doctor jumped out. "Told you!"

"I know, but..." Martha couldn't believe what she was seeing. They looked exactly as they did in the morning – faces, slightly flushed and Anna with the Doctor's tie in her hand. "That was this morning! But... Did you... Oh, my God! You can travel in time!"

Anna smiled at her before turning to the Doctor to find the tie around his neck. She tried to replicate what she thought it would look like, but after several tries, it looked terrible and it seemed as if the silk fabric was far too tight.

The Doctor choked before brushing her hands away and fixed the tie himself. "Remind me to never ask you to help me get dressed."

She pouted and retorted. "I've never tied a tie before!"

"Hold on." Martha regretted interrupting the two in their moment, but she was still perplexed about the entire situation. "If you could see me this morning, why didn't you tell me not to go in to work?"

"Crossing into established events is strictly forbidden, except for cheap tricks," he informed her, happily.

"And that's your spaceship?"

"It's called the TARDIS," he informed. "Time and Relative Dimension in Space."

"Your spaceship's made of wood. There's not much room." Martha looked down before looking the Doctor up and down. "We'd be a bit intimate."

Anna frowned, not quite liking the look the other woman was giving the Doctor. Was it going to be like Rose was here all over again?

"Take a look." The Doctor pushed the door open.

Martha walked in without a second thought and gaped at what she saw. "Oh, no. No." She ran back out to look around the blue police call box. "But it's just a box. But it's _huge_. How does it do that? It's wood." She knocked the TARDIS to prove her point. "It's like a box with that room just rammed in. It's bigger on the inside."

Anna laughed when the Doctor silently mouthed the words with her. "Is it? I hadn't noticed." He ushered them all in. "All right, then. Let's get going."

Martha looked around. "But is there a crew? Like a navigator and stuff? Where is everyone?"

"Just us."

"By yourselves?"

"Well, sometimes I have guests. I mean some friends, travelling alongside. I had – there was recently a friend of mine. Rose. Her name was Rose and... we were together."

Anna bit her lips and looked down. She wondered if there were double meaning in his words. She wondered if he was thinking about how she was unable to save Rose. Despite his lighter mood, she couldn't tell if he was angry at her. And on top of everything, it still hurt whenever he reminded her that he was in love with Rose. It felt so... so wrong to be jealous of someone who could never be with the one she loves. She was such a horrible person...

"Where is she, now?" Martha asked, snapping Anna out of her thoughts.

"With her family – happy. She's fine. Not that you're replacing her," the Doctor quickly added.

"Never said I was."

"Just one trip to say 'thanks.' You get one trip, then back home. I'd rather not have to..." His eyes glazed. He'd rather not travel with someone so fragile and lose them. The only exception now was Anna. He couldn't just leave her. She had nowhere else to go and despite wanting her to be somewhere safe. She'd be safest with him... wouldn't she? Of course, she wasn't. Who was he kidding? "I'd rather be alone. Well, except for Anna, here, but the TARDIS likes her. She'd probably never work for me, again, if I left Anna."

"You're the one that kissed me," Martha accused.

Anna's eyes widened. Kiss? He kissed her? As nice as Martha seemed to be, maybe they wouldn't get along after all.

"That was a genetic transfer," the Doctor argued. Humans! They're so sensitive!

"And if you will wear a tight suit..." Noting Anna's expression, Martha only meant to tease the Doctor one last time.

"Now... don't!" he cried.

"And then travel all the way across the universe just to ask me on a date..." Alright, now she was going to stop.

"Stop it."

"For the record? I'm not remotely interested. I only go for humans." Martha smiled at Anna when the platinum blonde looked at her. The Seraphixian smiled back and mouthed her gratitude.

"Good. Well, then. Close down the gravitic anomalizer," he instructed Anna who obediently did so. "Fire up the helmic regulator." She looked around for it. "Two steps to your left." She found it. He turned to Martha. "Ready?"

"No." Of course, she wasn't! They were in a time machine going who or when knows where.

"Aaaaand the hand brake! Off we go!"

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE_

I really like writing Martha into the story. I don't find her as a rival of Anna's for the Doctor's affection.

Thank you **NameWithNoMeaning** for reviewing!

Thank you as well to everyone who has favourited and followed this story!

I'd love to hear more from all of you.


	10. The Shakespeare Code

**CHAPTER TEN: THE SHAKESPEARE CODE**

"Blimey!" Martha exclaimed after experiencing how unsteady the Doctor was at commandeering the TARDIS. "Do you have to pass a test to fly this thing?"

"Yes," he replied with a grin. "And I failed it. Now, make the most of it. I promised you one trip and one trip only. Outside this door – brave new world. Go on, take a look.

Martha looked over to Anna who smiled at her. "It'll be fine, unless he's taken us to somewhere to a toxic atmosphere by mistake." Martha smiled back and opened the door before freezing as Anna continue. "Of course, that _has_ happened..."

"Once!" the Doctor exclaimed.

"Thrice!" Anna argued. "Laluo, Mageri, and Hasat!"

He opened his mouth to protest, but realised that it was true and settled to grumble about ungrateful companions instead.

Martha laughed at them before saying, "This one's fine!"

"Alright, first thing's first. No wandering off and always listen to me," the Doctor told them. "Especially you, Anna."

"Me?" She blinked. " _You_ were the one who wanted banana bread! I told you there wasn't going to be any. Besides, when I came back, _you_ were the one who had wandered off."

Instead of answering her, he went back to telling Martha the rules. "Last but not least. I'm always right." He ended with a grin.

Anna sighed and shook her head.

The three of them stepped out and entered a rather drear, damp place.

"Oh, you are kidding me," Martha exclaimed with wide eyes. "You are _so_ kidding me. Oh ,my God! We did it. We travelled in time. Where are we?" She shook her head as she remembered this wasn't just a normal trip. "No, sorry. I gotta get used to this whole new language. _When_ are we?"

"Mind the loo!" a man from one of the run down apartments cried out before he poured the liquid out his window.

"Somewhere before the invention of the toilet. Sorry about that."

Anna wrinkled her nose. "The life of peasants is so... unrefined..."

The Doctor snorted as the princess persona reared its head. "Not everyone had the luxury of living in a palace."

"Oh, my God. You're royalty?" Martha turned to Anna who shrugged and waved it off. "Alright." She respectfully dismissed it and turned back to the Doctor. "Are we safe? I mean, can we move around and stuff?"

"Of course, we can." The Doctor raised an eyebrow at her. "Why do you ask?"

"It's like in the films. You step on a butterfly, you change the future of the human race."

"Well, tell you what then, don't step on any butterflies," the Doctor said. "What have butterflies ever done to you?"

Anna laughed as they continued to walk. "Don't worry about it, Martha. I've been doing this for a years and the Doctor has been at it most of his life. If anything, the future's already been irreversibly damaged by him already.

"Oi!"

"But what if, I dunno... What if I kill my grandfather?" Martha smiled and frowned at the same time. She had so many emotions coursing through her. She still couldn't believe she was in the past!

"You planning to?" the Doctor raised his eyebrow at her.

"No."

"Well, then!"

"This is London," Martha stated after a quick look around.

"I think so. Right about 1599."

As soon as the Doctor said that, Anna gasped in delight. "Shakespeare!" She clapped her hands and jumped up and down. "I want to go see him! Let's go see him!"

There were numerous eyes on them, now. The Doctor glared at the man who was stumbling drunkenly to the excited platinum blonde. The natural instinct in human caused the man to subconsciously avert the trio and instead, approach the harlot several paces in front of them.

"Oh, but hold on. Am I all right? I'm not gonna get carted off as a slave, am I?" Martha looked down at her arm.

"Why would they do that?"

"Not exactly white, in case you haven't noticed."

"I'm not even human. Just walk about like you own the place. Works for me." Indeed it did. Unless, of course, he was walking through the front door of his enemy's headquarters, then it never really works out. "Besides, you'd be surprised. Elizabethan England, not so different from your time. Look over there." He pointed to two men shovelling manure. "They're got recycling."

"And the world will be consumed by flame!" a crazed man cried out.

"Global warming. Oh, yes, and... entertainment! Popular entertainment for the masses. If I'm right, were just down the river by Southwark right next to..."

"The Globe Theatre!" Anna squealed. "Let's go!" She tugged at the Doctor's sleeve. Opera was not the only thing she had taken in interest to while she was confined in Paris. She also liked to go see plays at the local theatre. Her favourite pieces are, of course, all by Shakespeare.

"Yes, the Globe Theatre." The Doctor nodded. "Although... technically it's a tetradecagon – fourteen sides." He finally turned to Anna who was impatiently tugging at his sleeve. "Alright! Let's go before Anna rips my sleeve. And I thought coffee was the worst thing that could happen to her... Well... it still is."

They sat in the middle of the aisle with a wide stage in front of them. People all around were talking amongst themselves, waiting for the man of the hour to show up.

"Where's Shakespeare? I want to see Shakespeare!" Martha thrust her first into the air and began to chant. "Author! Author!"

Immediately, Anna joined her. "Author!"

"Do people should that?" Martha asked the Doctor. "Do they shout "Author?"

To answer her question, the people all around them began to chant.

"Well... They do, now."

Finally, Shakespeare walked on to the stage.

"Genius. He's a genius – THE genius," the Doctor praised, a look of hero worship on his face. "The most human human that's ever been. Now, we're gonna hear him speak. Always, he chooses the best words - new, beautiful, brilliant words.

"Shut your big fat mouths!"

The Doctor's face fell and Anna burst out laughing. She patted him comfortingly on the arm. "It's alright, Doctor."

"You should never meet your heroes." Martha grinned at him.

The Doctor merely sighed as he continued to watch the world's greatest playwright speak. It was nothing he didn't expect until Shakespeare mentioned a sequel to _Love Labour's Lost_ \- _Love Labour's Won._

"I've never heard of Love Labour's Won before," Martha frowned.

"It's been mentioned a few times in history, but no copies have ever been found," Anna told her.

"And we're going to hear it for the first time!" Martha cheered. "We can sell it and make a mint."

The Doctor immediately frowned down at her. "No."

"That would be bad?" Of course, it was too good to be true. She can step on as many butterflies as she wanted, but recording a play from the sixteenth century was bad.

"We can't change history like that," he told her. "There must be a reason why this play is lost. I was just gonna give you a quick little trip in the TARDIS, but I supposed we could stay a bit longer."

Anna grinned at him, knowing exactly what they were going to do. They were going to meet Shakespeare and _talk_ to him! She bounced excitedly in her seat until the Doctor threatened to leave her in the TARDIS if she wasn't going to settle down.

When they arrived at the inn where Shakespeare was staying, the Doctor burst in on the playwright and the barmaid. "Hello!" He knocked on the door. "Excuse me! I'm not interrupting, am I? Mr. Shakespeare, isn't it?"

Shakespeare shook his head at them. "Oh, no, no, no, no. Who let you in? NO autographs. NO, you can't have yourself sketched with me and please don't ask where I get my ideas from. Thanks for the interest. Now, be a good boy and shove –" At that moment, Martha appeared from behind the Doctor and the playwright immediately focused all his attention on her. "Hey, nonny, nonny. Sit right down here next to me." He patted the seat beside him before turning to the two men he had been talking with. "You two get sewing on them costumes. Off you go."

The barmaid smiled at the men who were reluctant to leave and said, "Come on lads. I think our William's found his new muse."

"Sweet lady," Shakespeare said as Martha sat beside him. "Such unusual clothes. So... fitted."

"Um, verily, forsooth, egads," Martha replied with wide eyes.

"No, no, don't do that," the Doctor told her, causing Anna to laugh.

She had been the last to enter the room and her presence was rather striking after Martha's entrance. She was the completely opposite of the intern. Her pale skin and pale hair made her look almost washed out.

"I'm Sir Doctor of TARDIS and these are my companions, Miss Martha Jones and Princess Anna," the Doctor introduced them as he held out his psychic paper.

"Interesting." Shakespeare squinted at the paper. "That bit of paper, it's blank."

The Doctor gave him an impressed look. "Oh, that's... very clever. That proves it. Absolute genius."

"Makes up for what happened before, then?" Anna whispered to the Doctor.

"Oh, yes." He grinned.

Martha, not believing that the paper was indeed blank, took a look for herself. "No, it says so right three. Sir Doctor, Princess Adreanna – your name's Adreanna? – Martha Jones. It says so."

"And I say it's blank," Shakespeare argued.

The Doctor turned to Martha. "Psychic paper. Um, long story. Oh, I hate starting from scratch."

Anna nudged Martha. "It's a piece of paper that is blank until a telepathic message is sent to it. In this instant, the Doctor merely thought of what he wanted Shakespeare to see and it appears, but Shakespeare seems to be a bit telepathic. When that happens, the mind bypasses the illusion and sees nothing but a blank piece of paper."

"What about you? Do you see anything? On the paper, I mean."

"Sometimes," Anna replied. "The Doctor doesn't usually get me to read anything on it, so I'm not quite sure what conditions apply to when."

"Who are you exactly?" Shakespeare looked at the Doctor with suspicion. "More's the point, who is your delicious blackamoor lady?"

"What did you say?" Martha blinked at him, wondering if she had heard right.

"Oops. Isn't that a word we use nowadays? An Ethiop girl? A swarth? A Queen of Afric..."

"I can't believe I'm hearing this," Martha said, shaking her head.

"It's political correctness gone mad," the Doctor agreed. "Um, Martha's from a far-off land – Freedonia."

Anna snorted at the name. "Freedonia?" she whispered to him. He hushed her.

Suddenly, a man came bursting into the room. "Excuse me!" He walked towards Shakespeare with anger in his eyes. "Hold hard a moment. This is abominable behaviour. A new play with no warning? I demand to see a script, Mr. Shakespeare. As Master of the Revels, every new script must be registered at my office and examined by me before it can be performed."

"Tomorrow morning, first thing," Shakespeare promised. "I'll send it 'round."

"I don't work on your schedule, you work to mine." Lynley glared at him. "The script, now!"

"I can't," the playwright protested.

Anna walked over to a nearby window as the two men continued to dispute. The world really hasn't' changed that much. Still the same sky, the same air, the same Earth. They wouldn't know true change for many years to come.

The Doctor tugged her away to his playwright hero. "Hello! I'm the Doctor. This is Anna and Martha."

Shakespeare gave Anna an appreciative look, but his eyes were fixated on Martha immediately after. He began to sprout out names that made the doctor-in-training blush.

She liked Martha, even after the kiss with the Doctor. As much as she wanted to blame her for it, it wasn't her fault. The Time Lord just seemed to be a natural flirt and charmer. Besides, Martha was also a very good looking woman. It shouldn't be surprising that so many men would flock towards her.

Suddenly, there was a scream that cut through their playful conversation. They all looked at each other before rushing out the door. Just outside of the inn was Lynley. He was on the ground, spewing out water from his mouth as he desperately tried to cling on to his life, but only seconds after they arrived, Lynley was dead.

According to the Doctor, it appeared that he had genuinely drowned, no matter how impossible it seemed.

Dolly looked frightfully at the dead body.

"Good mistress, the poor fellow has died from a sudden imbalance of the humours," the Doctor told the innkeeper. "A natural, if unfortunate, demise. Call a constable and have him taken away."

"Yes, sir," she obediently replied, but another woman quickly took up the job. Something in the other brunette's eyes caught Anna's attention. The blonde's gaze followed the stranger until the form disappeared around the corner.

"And why are you telling them that?" Martha asked, giving the Doctor an odd look.

"This lot still have one foot in the Dark Ages," he explained. "If I tell them the truth, they'll panic and think that it was witchcraft."

"Okay." Martha nodded, seeing the sense in the Doctor's words. "What was it, then?"

"Witchcraft," he replied with a serious expression.

From beside him, Anna tried to stifle her laughter. As inappropriate as that was, the Doctor somehow always made everything sound silly. He wiggled his eyebrows at her and she had to press her hand against her mouth to keep from laughing. What a silly man.

After the crowd dissipated, they managed to get a small room in the inn. Something weird was happening here and the Doctor was never going to let it go until it was solved.

Unfortunately, the bed was a tiny, single cot that was a tight fit for two, let alone three. The only way they had managed to all settle on it was to lay on their sides. The Doctor was in the middle with both females facing away from him. He had an arm awkwardly in the air, not quite sure where to put it, yet.

When he heard Anna's deep, even breathing, he slowly let his arm down and rested the hand on her hip. Immediately, her body stiffened. His eyes widened. Was she still awake?! He quickly closed his eyes to feign sleep.

She shifted and turned towards him before burying her face into his shirt. He peeked open one eye to see her sleeping form snuggled against him. Her warm breath against his chest brought shivers down his body and straight between his legs. How was he ever going to get any sleep, now?

She was happily settled in the most comfortable cocoon when a high-pitched scream jerked her awake. As her cocoon bolted up, she tumbled haphazardly out of bed.

Her face burned with embarrassment when she realised that she had been cuddling the Doctor. What must he think of her? She had no excuse, this time!

As she continued to worry, the Doctor had peeked over the side to look at her. "What are you doing on the floor? Can't be too comfortable there!"

She raised her eyebrow at him. She was certain that he knew exactly who put her there in the first place.

"What are you guys doing?" Martha chastised them.

The Doctor was on his feet in an instant. "That's right! Stop fooling around, Anna! Allons-y!"

They followed the disturbance to Shakespeare's room. The playwright looked to be in distress as he hovered over Dolly who seemed sweet on him.

Anna looked over at the open window just as a wrinkled-face woman flew off on a broom. She looked familiar, but she couldn't recall from where. Why did she kill Dolly?

"What happened to her, Doctor?" she asked as her eyes took in the dead woman's frozen look of terror.

With a mournful look, the Doctor replied, "Her heart gave out. She died of fright."

What a terrible way to die. She couldn't imagine feeling so much fear to die from it… and for that emotion to be the last thing on her mind.

"Rage, rage against the dying of the light," the Doctor quoted.

Shakespeare looked thoughtfully at him. "I might use that."

"You can't. It's someone else's."

Martha looked thoughtfully at the playwright. It just doesn't seem to add up. "The thing is… Lynley drown on dry land, Dolly died on fright, and they were both connected to you."

Shakespeare looked appalled that Martha seemed to be accusing him, until she stated otherwise. As he calmed down, a memory came to mind. His old architect had once spoken of witches. IN fact, the crazed man mentioned them often, but no one seemed to have paid any attention to him. Within months of the Globe's completion, Peter Street had been thrown into Bedlam. Who knew that it was all true? Witches!

They were at Bedlam early in the morning of the next day. It was terrible. Several times, Anna felt her dress being tugged by the patients – no prisoners. These people were getting no treatment from anyone. Instead, they were thrust into this place to make society look better. No one wanted to admit that one of their relative or friend was not quite the normal as they perceived it.

She could feel the Doctor's eyes on her as she tried to keep her gaze forward. When he had gauged her expression the moment they arrived, he had insisted that she'd wait for him. It was an offer that was difficult to refuse, but she didn't want to appear as a coward to him.

Now, she was stuck here, trying to appear strong even though she knew that she wasn't. She hated what she was seeing. It was filthy and loud. The people were treated worse than farm animals.

When they finally reached Peter Streete, he was a terrible sight to see. His hair was matted with filth, as were his clothes and skin.

The Doctor cautiously approached the hunched over man. "Peter? Peter Streete?"

Shakespeare sadly shook his head. "He's the same as before. You'll get nothing out of him."

"Peter?" The Doctor was not one to easily give up and he was certain that he could get through to the man, even if it had to be through unconventional means.

The man looked curiously at him. Whether he had been mad before or not, the sanity seemed to have dissipated from his eyes. The Doctor knelt beside him. He placed his fingers on the other man's temples.

Anna had experienced this with him before. It was an odd sensation letting someone else into her head. She wondered if for that short moment, Peter had regained his sanity. What would he feel?

The Doctor began to guide him back to the past. Why fourteen sides for the Globe Theatre? And who? Who had been the ones instructing him and pushing him over the edge to insanity?

A woman suddenly appeared in front of them. Her face was similar to the witch Anna had seen the night before, but not the same one. It was as if she had just popped out of a fairytale book. A wicked smile was on her face as she pointed a finger at Peter. "Just one touch of the heart," she cackled.

Anna watched in horror as the witched approached him. "No!" she cried out with one hand grasping Peter's torn shirt and the other in front of her at the witch – in an attempt to shield him.

"Anna!" the Doctor yelled in alarm. He watched helpless as the witch neared her. His mind was racing. There were so many thoughts in his head – many many ideas, but he couldn't even process any of them.

She clenched her eyes shut when she realised that she had actually involuntarily moved in front of Peter. From behind her eyelids, she noted the blinding light and her entire body felt as if it was on fire.

When everything returned to normal, she felt two hands on her and someone calling out. What was happening?

The Doctor immediately rushed forward when he saw the witch disintegrate in the golden light. He knew exactly what that was and the fear that gripped him was overwhelming.

He had to wait for the light to subside before he could reach for her. Her eyes were closed and she fell forward into his arms. "Anna?" She was unresponsive. "Anna!" Her breathing was laboured and her skin was hot to the touch.

From beside him, Peter was groaning in pain, but very much alive. The portion of his shirt that Anna had been holding seemed to have melted on to his skin. Knowing that the others would take care of Peter, the Doctor gathered her into his arms and quickly brushed passed the people who were watching with wide eyes. "Martha, tend to Peter. I'll be at the TARDIS." He didn't wait for a reply before leaving them behind. He needed to know what was wrong with her.

D*O*C*T*O*R W*H*O

After scanning her with everything that he had, the Doctor sat heavily into the chair beside her. She seemed to be at the same state as before they had returned from the parallel world. What had triggered it out of its dormant state? Think. Think. Think!

"Doctor…?" His head snapped over to see that she was waking up. "Doctor, what happened?" Her voice was hoarse and her eyes were only half opened, but he could see the bright glow in them. "My head hurts…"

He was on his feet and sitting on the bed by her side in an instant. The sonic screwdriver was busy scanning her for the umpteenth time.

Nothing.

He nearly tossed the screwdriver in frustration. "Did you know?" he asked her, gritting his teeth.

She looked guiltily away from him. It was all the answer that he needed.

"When? Why didn't you _tell_ me?" To be honest, he wasn't angry at her. He was just feeling helpless that he couldn't do anything for her.

"Since Rose…"

That long? The sinking feeling was like an anvil that froze him to his spot. That meant that he had abandoned her while she was _dying_. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I…" She couldn't look at him. The insecurities were swimming in her head. How could she have told him after what he did? What if he…

"Anna…"

Tears began to well up in her eyes. "I was scared," she whispered. "What if I told you and… I didn't want to leave. I like it here – with you. I don't… I don't…" Her voice cracked and her sobs broke his heart.

She hadn't told him because she was an idiot who left her in the middle of nowhere. _Idiot!_ He hadn't even been aware that he was hitting himself in the head until warm fingers wrapped around his wrist.

Her concerned grey eyes peered up at him. The glow had faded.

"I should never have left you like that," he confessed. "I just couldn't bear to lose you, too." Seeing Rose disappear had been unbelievable difficult for him. "I don't want to lose you. I can't…"

A small smile graced her lips. "I will be okay. Besides… I am back here, now. I cannot be happier, Doctor."

"Stay here. I'll go take care of the Carrionites and then I'll be back before you can say Raxacoricofallapatorius." With that, he disappeared, but popped his head back in a second later. "Maybe not that fast… Well… Maybe a lot longer than that."

She let out a weak laugh, which made the Doctor smile.

"Take care of her, old girl," he whispered before he left the TARDIS. He had some witchy witches to take care of!

* * *

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE_

I always seem to be hurting Anna in some way or another! I should really stop doing that!

Thank you **grapejuice101** and **WXCKed** is good for reviewing!

 **grapejuice101** : I'm sorry that I didn't write the rest of the episode even though it's your favourite! I felt like it didn't leave me much room to be creative with it and I didn't want to just rewrite everything that happened!

 **WXCKED is good** : I'm so glad you like Anna and the Doctor! Are you a Mazerunner fan? I'm thinking of possibly writing a fanfiction for that one day! Probably once I wrap up a couple of stories.

Thank you as well to everyone who has favourited and reviewed this story!


End file.
